10% Deposit on drawn-out sale

sapper

Hi - for anyone out there whos ever spent months and months at sale agreed status.....

I know that in the classic process a buyer gets the contract from the seller, signs it and sends it back with the 10% deposit, and then the seller countersigns with the agreed closing date....but what if the seller doesnt actually sign the contracts straight away and it drags on and on and on...?

In that case isnt the buyer perfectly entitled to get the 10% (ie. a chunky 5 figure cash sum sitting in someone elses bank account) back until such a time as the vendor actually decides they are in a position to sign a contract?

Im not sure actually who has my 10% (my solicitor, their solicitor, them?) but until I actually know I have an agreed closing date i would really rather have my cash in my bank account...

Graham

What has your solicitor said?

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly

I am in the same position. I am being 'encouraged' to hand over deposit and sign contracts subject to a number of outstanding, unanswered queries by the vendor's solicitor.

I don't feel like doing this until the queries are answered. Am I wrong?

This, unfortunately is all too common. The delay in countersigning might be for genuine legitimate reasons or it might be that you are dealing with messers who have another agenda to selling the property to you.

In my experience, solicitors tend to treat delays as absolutely normal and have little desire to shake up the other side.

If you havent got an explanation that sounds genuine, makes sense, and that you can accept, then you need to pile on the pressure. Insist that your solicitor gets an explanation from the other side. If nothing arrives, then arrange a meeting with your solicitor to discuss the lack of progress. You will find that the solicitor likely makes contact with the other side on the eve of your meeting...

If the vendor has a genuine technical issue, and wants to sell, you might find that they will be relatively open about whats happening on their side.
If there is a real problem going on such as a family dispute or a divorce on the vendors side, then they will likely be unclear with you.... in this event you might need to consider pulling out.

The deposit is most likely with the other solicitor, never with the vendor (unless your solicitor is lax), and sometimes, if both solicitors agree, with your solicitor.

sapper

Thanks a mill. Actually the vendor agreed to sell to us because they were intending on buying another house - I gather thats either fallen through or has gotten very messy and the EA tells me they are now looking to buy another house. They're only going through with the sale if they can buy something.

Fair enough thats their preogative but if someones messing like that I would rather I didnt have any 'skin in the game' until theres an actual deal on the table

But you're right I get the impression my solicitor will be very unwilling to go through the hassle of getting the money back - much easier to sit back and wait. I do think however that if I was in the vendors position I would be absolutely fine with the money going back to my buyer for the few months

sapper

sapper wrote: »

I do think however that if I was in the vendors position I would be absolutely fine with the money going back to my buyer for the few months

Its not the actual money, the interest earned these days is buttons, and anyway you should be entitled to it. The important thing is that they are keeping unsigned contracts in their posession, thereby giving themselves the right to sign, and bind you, at any time..whcih also blocks you from getting another property.

Getting the contracts back, with the deposit should be no problem, a simple email should suffice, unless the vendors suddenly decide to sign it! The messiest outcome would be that they sign the contract but then play silly buggers with delivering their side. You would win in the end but only after a lot of stress and hassle.

In my view, given that they havent yet found a house for themselves to buy, you would be better to take back the contract... unless there is something really special about this house. If you stick here, there could be many months of messing with no guarantee of a successful outcome.

maximum12

Having being burnt by a dodgy solicitor I would not allow money just to sit in his client account for a long period of time.

The money will be ultimately protected by the law society compensation fund but it took me a long time to get my money back from the law society and I was still left out of pocket because the jaw society does not cover losses caused by the solicitors failure.

With no sense of irony the law society told me they are very busy with claims.

4ensic15

You can write to the other side and say you are not going ahead and if the vendor decides they want to sell, at some future time you will consider making another bid. Short of that, the wait and see approach is all you can really do. There is no contract with the vendor, you are merely at a gentleman's agreement stage. It is far from unusual for this kind of thing to happen.

December2012

Speak with your solicitor. Find out what the issues are. If you're not happy with the deposit being in their account or being sent ask for it back until they're willing to sign. But consider all effects first. Some sellers may get the wobbles and take it as a sign you're messing them around

davo10

December2012 wrote: »

Speak with your solicitor. Find out what the issues are. If you're not happy with the deposit being in their account or being sent ask for it back until they're willing to sign. But consider all effects first. Some sellers may get the wobbles and take it as a sign you're messing them around

I'd agree with this, weigh up the potential downside, if the vendor had not yet signed and you ask for your money back, the deal is off and the house can be put back on the market for a higher price if the demand is there. If the vendors have no where to go, it doesn't look good so it is either wait or ask for money back and risk losing the home. If you are not too bother whether the deal goes through or not, tell them hurry up and sign or give you your money back.

sapper

Deleted User wrote: »

The important thing is that they are keeping unsigned contracts in their posession, thereby giving themselves the right to sign, and bind you, at any time..whcih also blocks you from getting another property.

Yes this is the thing that scares me - but I asked about this back when I was selling my house (with another more expensive solicitor) and he said that kind of action wasnt the "done thing". I'll ask my new solicitor about it.

We actually agreed at quite punchy price and houses have stopped selling as fast as before these days so think we would be in quite an okay position. Agree the seller would tell us to feck off if the agreed price was "low" (ie compared to original asking)