Here goes. Accepted an offer on my flat(i own by myself) approx four weeks ago. Due to splitting up with g/friend we are no longer buying a house and i want to stay at my flat. Our offer on a house has only just been accepted, we havent signed anything so that wont cost me anything. However how do i stand with my flat? The prospective buyers have done survey searches etc. Will I be liable for these or any other solicitors cost? My solicitor charges a flat fee payable on completion but as im pulling out will i be liable. Advice and best ways to get out of it most appreciated. I live in England.
2006-08-15 23:54:24 · 14 answers · asked by neil246810 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
Hi I am a conveyancer.
As long as Contracts have not been exchnaged on your flat you have the right to pull out. All the buyers fees etc is just bad luck on their behalf I am afraid, they cannot claim this back from you.
More than likely your terms of business which you should have signed at the beginning of your transaction with your Solicitor will state that only a percentage of their fee will be charged up to exchange of contracts if the matter proves abortive. So you will have to pay a fee, but it most likely will not be the fee quoted to comlete the transaction.
Hope that helps
2006-08-16 00:03:46 · answer #1 · answered by Kelly B 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are not liable to pay anything. Until the exchange of contracts either side can pull out. As long as you have not exchanged contracts then thats just the way it goes your buyer will have to suffer the loss. 1 in 3 purchases fall through before completion so dont feel bad about it as it happens all the time.
You will only have to pay your solicitor if they have said that you do. If for example you have used this company www.convex.net you dont pay if the sales does not go all the way to exchange and completion. YOu will need to call your solicitor or read the documents that they have sent to you to find this out. YOu will have had to have signed an agreement of instruction for your solicitors so that is legally binding and you cant get out of it. If you havent signed anything then you dont have to pay anything.
2006-08-17 23:37:17 · answer #2 · answered by Charli 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
until you exchange you are not liable for any of your buyers fees.
You will still (check the small print) have to pay something to your solicitors. But becuase you are only selling and not buying pulling out now may only cost you £200 approximately.
Ring your solicitor and find out and then tell your buyers you no longer wish to sell.
Sorry to hear about your girlfriend. Good luck x x
2006-08-16 11:17:29 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Providing that contracts haven't been exchanged, then you can pull out of the chain, and you will owe nothing to your buyers. You might consider making a payment to your buyers as a gesture of goodwill but you are not obliged to do this.
In terms of your solicitors, it depends on what work has been done and also the terms of service. Some solicitors have a no completion/no fee service, but you will probably find yourself still having to pay for disbursements (e.g. searches). Other solicitors may charge you for their time, or a percentage. You will need to contact your solicitor to find out.
2006-08-16 10:25:41 · answer #4 · answered by nemesis 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
technically you can pull out of the sale at any point up untill exchange of contracts. yeah you buyer might be a little peeved but if you explain the reasons to the estate agent you are selling through, they will talk it through with the buyer, obviously they will have lost money on search fees and mortgage valuations etc, but in house buyeing and selling withdrawral up to any point untill exchange of contracts has to be expected. You on the other hand may lose the money that you have given to your solicitor unless he/ she is a no win no legal fee conveyancer. You may want to give your buyers half the money back that they have lost out of good will or something, search fees cost £250 and mortgage survey £500, so perhaps if you write tham a cheque or something for £375, they might find it easier to understand that it wasnt becuase you were being difficult and that you are sorry.
2006-08-16 00:10:52 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
As long as contracts have not been exchanged then you can legally pull out.
You may have to pay your solicitor for work already done i.e. searches and your estate agent may ask for a small fee (check your contract) for the board, advertising etc.
The prospective buyers may try to get money from you but I don't think that they have a good chance of recouping any.
Don't delay, get the ball started to cancelling everything now.
2006-08-16 01:30:27 · answer #6 · answered by Valiant 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
From a legal point of view, as long as you haven't exchanged contracts, you can walk away from both deals. It may upset a few people, but that's life. You may still incurr some legal costs for what the solicitor has done so far though.
2006-08-16 00:01:15 · answer #7 · answered by voodoobluesman 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Call you solicitor as soon as possible.
I am sure you are not the first one in this situation and they must be used to deal with any situations, even the most difficult.
Although since no documents had been signed, that should be quite straight forward to sort out.
2006-08-16 00:04:16 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
you have not entered into a legally binding contract until contracts have been exchanged between seller and buyer, have a word with your solicitor about other fee's as he is working for you at the moment.
you can pull out but do it sooner rather than later
2006-08-16 00:02:22 · answer #9 · answered by ♥fluffykins_69♥ 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the US, you wouldn't be able to. If you have a signed accepted offer, on either the flat or the new place, the plaintiffs could sue and force you to follow through. Those are legaland binding contracts.
2006-08-16 00:11:21 · answer #10 · answered by ceprn 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋