House buying - is this correct?

[chappie]

We recently bought a house and paid the solicitor's bill plus all the fees involved with the house purchase to the solicitor, then we got a call from him asking for a further �52 from us, saying that the final transaction didn't go through in time (we moved on a Friday) and the seller's solicitor couldn't claim the payment until the following Monday, thus incurring an interest fee on our seller's mortgage of �52. I spoke to our solicitor who says it is no-one's fault, it is a fault on the banking system, or because our buyer's solicitor transferred the money late - he says we ended up with the extra on the bill because we are at the end of the chain. Does this sound correct?

[Ethel]

Sadly it does. :(

The monies payable can't be known to the precise amount in advance - the banks will keep piling their interest on.

You should have been informed of this fact though.

[happyskyper]

These" little" mistakes can be costly and 52 squids is way better then 350 I got hit with when my purchase went a "little" off course

[gina32]

each time ive moved i wasnt able to move into the new premises until id had a call from the solicitor to say that the money had been paid into the sellers account, so how does this happen?

[chappie]

We got a call from the solicitor to say the money had been transferred and we could have the keys on the Friday afternoon, he says he transferred the money at around 3.20 in the afternoon. The banking system closed down at 3.30 that day, and apparently the seller's solicitor did not claim it that afternoon, as it was too close to the bank's closing time (and it might have been that the seller's solicitor was too busy although this hasn't been mentioned) so it didn't reach the seller's account until the Monday of the following week, thus incurring �52 interest on the seller's mortgage. What I can't understand is, why does it fall to us to pay this, could I put forward that it is "shared blame" between all the parties involved in passing it down the chain? It is not a big amount of money and I am resigned to the fact that I will have to pay, but why wouldn't the seller's solicitor claim it from the seller, for example, as it was their mortgage interest, rather than from us, when we are no more to blame than anyone else is? I am sure we will just shut up and pay up, seems there isn't any choice, but it does seem unfair to me, and I know I should be grateful that it wasn't a big amount, like happyskyper.

It sounds like our solicitor "jumped the gun" by declaring the transaction complete once he had transferred the money to the seller's solicitor, and I think he should have waited until it had been claimed by the seller's solicitor before he rang me to say the house was legally ours.

[gina32]

still dont understand because a lot of people dont gain access to the new property until much later than that. surely your solicitor is to blame and should be made to pay??

[chappie]

I think our solicitor is partly at fault, although he said it is no-one's fault, it is just one of those things that happens in house buying and selling. I asked why our seller's solicitor is not at least equally to blame for not claiming the money in time. He said that I could ring the seller's solicitor if I wish, and suggest to him that he splits the bill with us, as we feel he is partly to blame. I haven't done this, as I don't think it is likely to happen, because he has already been paid by our solicitor. And I also think he will just blame the banking system. My husband thinks we should just pay up and put it behind us, as we will have to pay in the end anyway. I can't pretend that I understand any of it, but when I told my solicitor I didn't understand, he didn't sound too happy about it - basically he thinks we should just pay the money and accept that these things happen.

[newbie99]

Give the law society a ring for advise.. I think your solicitor should pay up. It was his negligence.

[BBWCHATT]

Do you have a recision period? If so, the mere hint that you may recind on your purchase will probably have everyone falling all over themselves to pay it.

[chappie]

No I don't think we can recind on the purchase, as we have been living in the property for two weeks now.

Any Answerbankers disputed a charge such as this? If we did refuse to pay, would a solicitor sue us for �52? Anyone any ideas?

Thanks.

[saffstar]

It doesn't sound correct to me.

Since when are you liable for the seller's mortgage payments??

You will have agreed a purchase price with the seller way before completion, and exchanged contracts on this basis.

I'm sure you didn't agree to pay more money to cover any additional interest on the seller's mortgage.

If your solicitor submitted funds on the friday, then (s)he has done all that they needed to. If the seller's solicitor did not submit the funds to the lender in time, then that is their problem, and the seller must settle the bill for the interest - it's between them and their lender - Nothing to do with you.

The difficult part will be proving that your solicitor completed the transfer on the friday (I assume this was the day that completion was supposed to occur on).

I would certainly not pay it.

What other people are saying is partly true - when redeeming YOUR OWN mortgage, you can't be sure of the exact amount and additional interest can be payable. But when you're purchasing, you are not responsible for the seller's mortgage payments!

As I said previously, you will have already agreed a purchase price - you are under no obligation to pay anything over and above this to the seller.

[chappie]

Thanks for your reply, staffstar. We have received a reminder from our solicitor, asking for the further �52, but we haven't paid it yet. I am wondering though, if he would sue us for this amount, or what might happen if we refused to pay. It doesn't sound at all fair to me, to expect us to pay, but when I spoke to him on the phone and voiced this, he was quite matter-of-fact and said that this is the way it works with property sale and purchase. Thanks for reply.

[saffstar]

I would not pay it, contact the Law Society or just another solicitor - they will give you a free consultation, or even the CAB.

[saffstar]

BTW there are no delays when mortgage monies are sent by TT (telegraphic transfer) and the receiver doesn't have to claim the monies - they are sent direct to their account.

If your solicitor did not send the monies in time, then it is his/her fault not yours (unless you did delay it!!) Get in touch with the seller's solicitor and ask them why you are being given the bill for the seller's interest payment. - Something tells me you're not getting the full picture from your sols!

Besides all that, your lender will have sent the monies to your solicitor at least the day before completion, therefore you should be expecting a cheque from your solicitor that represents interest earned whilst in the sol's account.

Are you fully sure you have all the facts and there is nothing else that you have not mentioned?

Was this a simultaneous sale and purchase?
Were you a first time buyer?
Did you have your own mortgage on an existing property to clear?
Is it this mortgage that attracted an additional interest payment?

I don't mean to hit you with so many questions, it just seems strange that the sol is so adamant that you need to pay it!

[chappie]

Hi saffstar,

It was a simultaneous sale of our old house and purchase of our new house, completion on the same day (Friday 8th June). We were not first time buyers and did not have a mortgage on an existing property, nor did we need a mortgage for the new property. We cashed in all our assets and savings to go towards the new purchase, and that part of our money was with our solicitor by Tuesday 5th June, in good time for Friday 8th. This is why we feel annoyed that we have to pay this additional interest.

Our solicitor's explanation is that our buyer'solicitor was late transferring the funds from the sale of our house to him, therefore it was late afternoon before our solicitor could transfer them on to our seller's solicitor. Our seller's solicitor didn't have enough time to receive the money and because it was a Friday afternoon, the transaction couldn't go ahead until the following Monday, thus incurring Saturday and Sunday's interest. I baffles me why it falls to us to pay, but our solicitor paid it on our behalf to our seller's solicitor, and is now seeking to get it back from us.

When I queried it, he just reiterated the theory about it being no-one in particular's fault, it being the banking system's fault, being the fault of our buyer's solicitor for their part in the transaction being late and so on.

It seems to me like each solicitor will blame the other, plus the banking system. I thought the money transfer was instant, but our solicitor said that there is such a demand for this kind of transaction on a Friday afternoon, that it isn't always, and I think the bank ing system shuts down early on a Friday afternoon.

Our solicitor suggested we ring the seller's solicitor and take it up with him if we are not happy - suggesting he pays half of the �52, but I have not done this, he has already had the money from our solicitor so I can't see him giving a refund of half of it.
<

[saffstar]

It sounds to me that your solicitor did not submit the funds on time on the friday (or at all and then sent them monday)_ hence the seller's are claiming breach of contract for a late exchange and then charging the additional interest to your solicitor, who paid it (as (s)he was at fault) and is now trying to claim it back from you.

Again I make the point that your solicitor held your monies for several days, attracting interest which is payable back to you.

Personally, I would give the other sols a quick call, a secretary will be able to provide you with the answers you need.

If my suspicions are correct - it was your solicitor's error that the monies were not sent on time (or on Friday!) The sellers cannot automatically pass the charge onto you for their additional interest unless they are claiming it as compensation for failing to complete on the agreed day.