Failed Contract Exchange On Completion Date

Hello there.
Iam wondering if you could help point in the right direction or can advise us what to do.

We were suppose to complete on a house sale in slough and purchase in Norfolk on the 10th march. Contracts were exchanged a week before and we were all packed and ready to go on the Friday morning 07:30. If it had not been for me putting the only keys I had left through the letterbox then realising I'd left my wallet in the kitchen we would be winging our way to a new life in Norfolk. While waiting for the estate agents to open up so I could get my wallet we received a phone call from our solicitor advising us that our buyer (bottom of the chain) had his mortgage pulled by his provider. RBS, and no one knew why or had ever experianced this before. In a state of shock and disbelief we had to decide to leave the house, vacant and travel to Norfolk. Luckily I have family there which we are staying with as jobs and schools in place for all four of us. The solicitor and estate agents did not know what would have caused this and as our buyer is now in breach of contract he would be served and loose the deposit he had paid. He had 10 days to resolve this with his mortgage company.
After an exasperating weekend of not i owning and then on Wednesday our estate agent tells us that our buyer had fraudulently applied for a mortgage with some paperwork in the application. Not 100% sure but fraud is fraud and RBS obviously picked up on it.

This now leaves us without a house and a mortgage offer we have expiring on 23rd as the woolwich will not extend. Leaving us in dyer straights as our financial circumstances have changed with me now self employeed since December. The mortgage was being ported to the new property and based on a joint income prior to November. We can reapply for the mortgage based on my wife's income and child benitits to hopefully get the mortgage were after £136k.
But we have not explored this yet so we can see what happens with the buyer as he has until the 23rd to see if he can pull a rabbit out of a hat or risk loosing 10% deposit on the purchase at £380k.

There are several questions we need answering and I would appreciate some advice from another solicitor who may have experience in this matter.


Would be nice to hear from someone else in the know

Thanks
Neil hewett
07738766514

2 Answers

Hi,

We don't offer a telephone service but if you let us have a list of questions we'll help if we can.

Best regards

FCA

Who is entitled to the deposit our failed buyer paid?
Should this have been used up the chain?
Should a new buyer pay a deposit also and what happens to that?

That's a start. Am sure it will start a conversation

Thanks
Neil