Can I back out of house purchase?

Lemag

Hi there,

So I had an offer accepted on a house in mid February. From that point onward the process has been very slow and frustrating. I signed a contract in mid May and paid the balance of the 10% deposit. The closing date stated on this contract which was written up by the seller's solicitor was for the end of May. I then went for a few weeks without hearing anything. I found out last week that the seller had only just given their tennants notice to move out. Bearing in mind that it is now July am I now in a postision to cancel this purchase and get the deposit back should I choose to do so?

Thanks for any helpful advice with this.

D3PO

yes absolutely if you haven't signed the contract you can pull out. You will lose a few quid in legal fees but not much so don't feel you have to go through with it if you don't want to.

waldo

Even thought the closing date was at the end of May, the seller's solicitor is unlikely to have added a clause that would invalidate the contract after the closing date expired. A closing date is sometimes added to stop purchasers dragging out a sale - a contract can specify a daily interest rate on any late days after the closing date.

Unfortunately you signed a contract for the whole sale amount, so you could be sued for more than the 10% deposit (i.e. the total price of the house). This is unlikely, but you may not get the deposit back if you walk away now.

Best to ask your own solicitor what your options are.

The OP says they signed a contract.

OP I think you need to talk to your solicitor and get legal advice.

jpd85

[Deleted User] wrote: »

The OP says they signed a contract.

OP I think you need to talk to your solicitor and get legal advice.

I recently signed contracts and asked my solicitor if theoretically the sellers could drag this out for months. He told me if it's not closed within a reasonable time I could serve notice to close within a certain time and if they didn't we could eventually get out of it. He made it sound like it would take a couple of monts to get this but yes we cud get out of it and get our deposit back. Best advice is talk to your solicitor about options and check when your solicitor and the sellers solicitor found out about the tenants needing notice.

Lemag

D3PO wrote: »

yes absolutely if you haven't signed the contract you can pull out. You will lose a few quid in legal fees but not much so don't feel you have to go through with it if you don't want to.

I signed the contract in mid may.

waldo wrote: »

Even thought the closing date was at the end of May, the seller's solicitor is unlikely to have added a clause that would invalidate the contract after the closing date expired. A closing date is sometimes added to stop purchasers dragging out a sale - a contract can specify a daily interest rate on any late days after the closing date.

Unfortunately you signed a contract for the whole sale amount, so you could be sued for more than the 10% deposit (i.e. the total price of the house). This is unlikely, but you may not get the deposit back if you walk away now.

Best to ask your own solicitor what your options are.

I don't have copy of the contract to look over and my solicitor has been very hard to get a hold off. He has advised me that I can't back out of it at this stage. However, for the relatively small conveyance fee which he is to receive I suspect that he may just want to have the deal tied up as soon as possible.

ledonb

D3PO wrote: »

yes absolutely if you haven't signed the contract you can pull out. You will lose a few quid in legal fees but not much so don't feel you have to go through with it if you don't want to.

He has just said that he signed the contract.

Lemag

jpd85 wrote: »

I recently signed contracts and asked my solicitor if theoretically the sellers could drag this out for months. He told me if it's not closed within a reasonable time I could serve notice to close within a certain time and if they didn't we could eventually get out of it. He made it sound like it would take a couple of monts to get this but yes we cud get out of it and get our deposit back. Best advice is talk to your solicitor about options and check when your solicitor and the sellers solicitor found out about the tenants needing notice.

Yeah I'm aware of that option however, as the Seller has served their tennant notice I don't expect there to be any further delays with the sale. Serving the seller notice will only help me to get out of the sale if it does drag on for longer then the notice stipulates (28 days).

D3PO

ah hadn't spotted you had signed the contract

ledonb

Lemag wrote: »

I signed the contract in mid may.

I don't have copy of the contract to look over and my solicitor has been very hard to get a hold off. He has advised me that I can't back out of it at this stage. However, for the relatively small conveyance fee which he is to receive I suspect that he may just want to have the deal tied up as soon as possible.

If the tenants are still there you could serve a 21 day notice. The owner will be unable to close while the tenants are there and then you can pull out.

Henry Ford III

Ask your Solicitor OP, or maybe get a better one.

p.s. If the contracts are signed and exchanged you are committed I reckon.

pippip

Currently going through the exact same situation as the op, we sale agreed the week before xmas.

It has been so drawn out. All signed and bank waiting to hand over the cheque and the tenants dont seem to be moving despite numerous promises from the seller.

We issued the 28 day completion notice through our solicitor. Its the only option we had to push the seller. We don't have to pull out at that point but it gives us the legal option to and get our deposit back.