• New Build, Shared Ownership, Solicitor Delaying Exchange But We Have A Deadline That We Won't Meet

    By Guest on 07th Oct 2016

    We are in the process of buying a shared ownership new build, the solicitor has all our signed documents and is ready to exchange but is advising us not to as the housing association don't yet own the property. She is advising that we wait until ownership has been passed to them from the developer. Problem is that the housing association have given us a deadline to exchange, and have said they would re market the property if we don't exchange by the deadline. I've managed to extend the deadline by a week but the new deadline is next Tuesday and our solicitor is still saying to wait. Not sure what to do as we don't want to loose the house

  • 1 Answers

    By Guest on 09/10/2016

    It is difficult to offer a definitive opinion on this without sight of the file so I would say trust your lawyer. It sounds like the housing association is the seller but is not registered as the owner of the property it intends to sell. If it is still not registered as owner on completion then you have a problem because you may be obliged to pay over the purchase price but you can't be registered as the owner until after the housing associations' application is completed. If there is a problem with that application there is a risk you may never be able to register your ownership, so the asset you have paid so much money for is worthless. More likely, there may be a significant delay before you can register which could cause you problems and also (assuming you are buying with a mortgage) cause your lender problems. Your lawyer may well take the view (rightly in my opinion) that he cannot use the mortgage advance to complete the purchase unless and until the seller is the registered owner so that by exchanging contracts you take the risk that you will not have the money to be able to complete and you could lose your deposit. It is possible to build safeguards into the contract (as I say, one would need all the facts to make a clear judgement) but without these safeguards you are at risk. No doubt you will be told by those not employed to protect your interests that "other buyers have already exchanged and their lawyers didn't have problem" but a) where is the proof? and b) will it be a consolation to you if you lose your deposit to know that you are not the only one?

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