Pulling out from House Purchase Deal

>1) What is my legal position ? Am I in position to pull out or have to complete the transaction.<
Did you check the completion date on the contract. My contract said 18months from signing of the contract.
If the builder goes outside this he could be in breach of contract.
 
"Think solicitors need to impress on people a bit more the significance of the contract signing. "

Why is it always someone elses fault?

Like I said I have sympathy but the harsh reality is that you and you alone decided to do this and now that it is looking like not such a great idea, you want out.

Can you hand on heart say that you did not realise that the contract was binding and that you thought you could change your mind afterwards?

mf
 
Even though my original post was hard on Moro some lessons need to be learned from the madness of the last few years.Solicitors need to be more formal with their clients and advise them of the consequences of their actions.Buyer beware. Know what you are signing. Ask the relevant questions. I dont though have much sympathy. You had the benefit of independant legal advice. If there were no late completion clauses then it is tough luck. As regards the leak you may still have a case if the work completed can be traced back to the builders. If you used a bonded engineer and he didn't spot it you have the makings of a case against him.I build a house using a fixed price contract with a builder. His roofing (internal) was not in agreement with the plans and my engineer did not spot it. When selling the house the buyers engineer spotted it. We are in the process of suing the engineer/builder.
 
I agree with the above, the solicitors don't impress on people enough the binding nature of the contract when they are getting people to sign. They just want you to sign and that's it. Nothing about you're completely bound by it no matter what. I came under a lot of pressure to sign the contract in a hurry last year so I wouldn't recommend people to do this. Also if you're buying off the plans and the property is not due for completion for another 6mths or more, your life can change a lot. Unfortunately, things happen to people in life like they change jobs, unexpected circumstances, pregnancy etc which can dramatically alter their financial circumstances in the intervening period before the property is completed and sale is closed. It's scary to think that no matter what happens in your life between contracts and completion that you are bound to go through with sale regardless. I realise that the builders have to cover themselves but surely a minimum financial penalty would cover these kind of situations. What happens to a person who is made redundant and simply cannot go through with sale because they are unable to make repayments??
 
Moro said:
What happens to a person who is made redundant and simply cannot go through with sale because they are unable to make repayments??
Click to expand...

What happens to the person who closed and then subsequently gets laid off and cant make their payments?

Why should they have any less "right" to "get out" of something binding...

Its a contract for sale of a house, with a 25/30 yr mortgage, surely its just common sense to understand that its binding and you cant wear it once with the tag on and chance changing it for another.
 
In that case, the same applies for the faulty workmanship by the builders. You wouldn't buy a jumper with a hole in it either. The standard of workmanship is appauling. As for the leak and the smell of the sewage from the bathroom, they say they fixed them but even an engineer can't tell if they will occur again. You are bascially bound to pay over your money no matter what's wrong with the place after completion.
 
Moro said:
In that case, the same applies for the faulty workmanship by the builders. You wouldn't buy a jumper with a hole in it either. The standard of workmanship is appauling. As for the leak and the smell of the sewage from the bathroom, they say they fixed them but even an engineer can't tell if they will occur again. You are bascially bound to pay over your money no matter what's wrong with the place after completion.
Click to expand...

Have you contacted the developer about not closing? Are there unsold units in the development? I'm sure you could intimate that although he is fully entitled to force you to close on the deal, you will be warning off prospective buyers to prevent them from making a similar mistake (e.g. offering to show them the "quality" of workmanship in your place when they show up for viewings etc.). In a time characterised by nervous buyers, the developer might judge it would be better not to force you to close.
 
Yes, that's a good point. I have been in contact with them regarding the faults but I have never actually said I was thinking of pulling out of the deal because of them. I was just about to close the sale again this week when I've encountered another problem. Just as the leak has been fixed, there's now a smell of sewage coming from the ensuite bathroom. It comes and goes but the neighbour has also had it. They told me it's because it's not being used but she's in there over a month and still has it. How am I going to sell the place or rent it or live there if there is a smell of sewage from bathroom?? I can't believe it's one thing after another. I really feel so frustrated at this stage that I feel like telling them to shove it only they have €40K belong to me. Has anybody else had a similar experience? Would you hand over €265K for a place with a smell of sewage in bathroom? I really don't know what I'm going to do. They told me there is nothing they can do with it as it comes and goes. Am I still contractually obliged to go through with this?? I might just have to talk to builders again and see what they say.
 
A smell of sewage not uncommon in new build bathrooms after heavy rain. A lot of dirt, debris, builders rubble in the drains. It will disappear with time . Give the drainage system time to settle down
 
lawyers need to word contracts to protect buyers. contracts confirm buyers ability to pay morgage amount. if buyers status changes and they are no longer able to fufill morgage requirements loss of job ,injury no longer able to work these scenarios should be written into contract.
builders lawyers shall object but these protections for buyers are common in us. buyers lawyers need to do more to protect the interest of their clients and buyers need to demand more protections in house purchase process.contract states bank shall give morgage under agreed circumstances if the buyer status changes contract is void and any deposit paid is returned.
 
People need to not sign contracts if they do not understand them and are afraid of changed circumstances.

Loan approval clauses were common enough until c.1997(?) (when did the Gold Rush start?) and are likely to come back into play again I suspect.

It is now a buyers market - this power shift benefits purchasers.

mf
 
The builders solicitors just wrote to my solicitors today offering to pull out of contract if I do not wish to proceed. My solicitor say it's unusual. They may have another buyer. I hadn't even asked for this so it looks like it's not as difficult as everybody initially thought. I just have to make a final decision now on whether to proceed or not. I still have a problem with odour in bathroom from toilet? What do people think of this?
 
But Moro isn't this exactly what you wanted - the builder is offering to let you out of the contract and return the deposit. You absolutely wanted to pull out of the purchase due to increased repayments and faults in the house plus you felt trapped by the contract and now you're free?
 
You're right, Aileen. I suppose, I've spent so long thinking that I have to go through with it that my mind hasn't adjusted to the idea that I can walk away yet. I will still have lost some money with legal fees, some furnishing expenses and drawing down on my mortgage but not my deposit at least. The builders offered to give me money back and contribution towards expenses incurred or they told me my other option is sell it as they are not selling for €20k more than I paid for it but I'm sure if it's worth taking the risk that it won't sell. I'd need to make 10k over what I paid to cover the costs anyway. So there's my 2 options.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top