Pulling out of a signed contract

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pumpkin81

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Hi There,

Does anyone know or have experience of managing to get out of a signed contract with a Builder? We bought almost two years ago but our place is still not ready. In the meantime our financial circumstances have improved and we would like to purchase an alternative property. The original contract we signed said that we would be in 12 months after signing but that marker was over 6 months ago and we are still not in. We want to know if we can pull out of the sale without losing our deposit? Any help/advice would be great.
 
We have done and he's having a Barrister review the contract. Was just wondering if anyone else had been through a similar situation.

Thx
 
Why does he need a barrister to review the contract? Surely a conveyancing solicitor should be able to advise on such matters themselves!? :confused:
 
I'd say because he thinks there is no way out but just in case......

Generally you can try to negotiate with the builder/EA but at the moment they are pretty keen to hold onto buyers.

I wonder would serving a completion notice be an option...
 
A completion notice effectively states that you are ready to close and that you are formally giving the builder x amount of time to close the deal. If a builder fails to close, then penalties may be imposed, though I'm not sure what these may be. Your solicitor should be able to advise.
 
pumpkin81 said:
Thanks for the advice. What exactly is a Completion Notice?
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It is a document that either in a conveyance can serve on the other. Essentially you say to the buyer that you are ready willing and able to complete and that if they do not within 28 days then you can sue for the return of the deposit plus interest (or the vendor can retain the deposit etc). I doubt it would be an option though.
 
pumpkin81 said:
Hi There,

Does anyone know or have experience of managing to get out of a signed contract with a Builder? We bought almost two years ago but our place is still not ready. In the meantime our financial circumstances have improved and we would like to purchase an alternative property. The original contract we signed said that we would be in 12 months after signing but that marker was over 6 months ago and we are still not in. We want to know if we can pull out of the sale without losing our deposit? Any help/advice would be great.
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It is very unusual ( and suicidal on the builders part ) to include a specified completion date in the contract. You must check for sure is this the case or were you just told it would be 12 months???

Even if advised of a date in contract there are often cavetas etc in the standard contracts allowing the builder all sorts of get out clauses from changing specs to completion dates. ( after all the buildrs legals do writ them in their interest and not the purchaser )
 
Pumpkin I have been through a similar situation and its almost impossible to get out of a signed contact with a builder without losing your deposit, I tried with no luck. All such contacts are weighted heavily in favour of the builder and from I can see the buyer has very little rights. Even if there are defects in the builders work it seems the only route open is arbitration which can be a costly option and I have spoken with a barrister on this.
 
Thanks for that firsttimebuy. I'm trying really hard not to get my hopes up as deep down I really don't think we have a hope but we've found the perfect alternative property and am really hoping for a miracle. I'll let you know how we get on. It really is a disgrace how the builders get away with setting completion dates which are never adhered to and are never penalised for the delays.
 
I have a penalty clause in my contract which states that for every month the hosue is late, €1000 is taken off the purchase price.
 
live and learn! we were two naive FTB's just excited to be getting on the property ladder - never thought we'd have to go through anything like this. did u negotiate that urself or did ur solicitor put it to you?
 
It was offered through the agent and the solicitor has ensured that it's in the contract. In the current climate, I think more people should ask for it, I imagine it's a nightmare if completion dates are missed.
 
plant43 said:
It was offered through the agent and the solicitor has ensured that it's in the contract. In the current climate, I think more people should ask for it, I imagine it's a nightmare if completion dates are missed.
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My apartment is 13 months late - and i'm still waiting!!
 
Can I just remind everybody that no-one is compelled to sign a Contract? If people do not like a contract and if they cannot then negotiate better conditions, they should not sign.

There have been any number of these queries in recent time, the implication somehow being that because of a downturn in the market, that there should be some way of getting out of/renegotiating the terms of a contract. There isn't. Not unless there is some form of legal issue or you can renegotiate the terms.

There is no magic wand. And seeing a new house a buyer prefers is not a good reason to force a developer to walk away from a contract for a house originally contracted for.

mf
 
MF1 I do agree with some of your points but at the same time when you are buying off plans you don't physically get to see your own house its very hard to determine if there is going to be anything wrong at that stage.

The point that I was trying to make which I think its a valid one, is that even if there are major delays to the point the contact date is past (18 months), bad workmanship, defects etc it is still practically impossible to get out of a contact and this is from experience. The only option open to us was arbitration and to be honest unless you have lots of spare money its hard to take that risk and we were advised against it. So now we have to close on the house where it has been delayed past the point of the contact, the snags have not been fully completed and there is a damp ceiling which we tried to get replaced but the builers would not do it only did a patch up job, I hardly think that's fair.
 
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