• Speeding Things Along

    By Guest on 23rd Jun 2015

    We are buying a leasehold property. Our solicitor was very slow to raise enquiries on the draft contract and the seller's solicitor hasn't responded at all for over two weeks. Neither seems bothered about moving things on. Meanwhile the seller has provided me with almost all the required information directly and I have sent this on to our solicitor. However she has advised us that "Replies which are received from the seller direct or from the estate agents do not form part of the contract and are not actionable after completion if they turn out to be wrong or misleading. They only form part of the contract if they are given in writing by the sellers solicitors." Is this really true? Or does it just refer to taking action against the seller's solicitor, rather than the seller and/or his agent?

  • 2 Answers

    By Guest on 24/06/2015

    This is correct. The Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 section 2 sets out the requirements for a valid conveyancing contract and amongst other things it says that only terms that are either written into the contract or expressly incorporated by reference are binding on the the parties. This to avoid the seller or buyer unwittingly agreeing to something without taking legal advice which then becomes part of the contract. The seller needs to press his solicitor to pass the replies on to your solicitor

  • By Guest on 24/06/2015

    Thanks for your prompt reply, very helpful.

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