Solicitors fee when no sale agreed reach

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waltzer

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Can anyone advise on this?
I am trying to sell my apartment which has been on the market now for almost a year.
I accepted an offer around 7 weeks ago, legal work was started by both my solicitor and the potential purchasers, but on Monday of this week, the purchasers pulled out because one of them has recently became ill, quite seriously, I understand.
In the meantime, my solicitor has incurred charges of EUR250 in respect of management fee information which it requested from my management company in response to queries it had received from the purchaser's solicitors. Yes, this information can be used for a future purchaser, but only if that future purchaser appears within 8 weeks. Not likely in the current climate.
Any views anyone? I have asked my agent if the booking deposit can be used for such outlay and she tells me that it cannot. I am just wondering is this money payable by me? I know it's not a lot, but I am more pi**ed off that aside from time and hassle on trying to complete, lost viewings since the agent stopped viewings because she thought we had a sale (I asked her not to do this, but since found out that she did...another story), I now have to pay for the privelege of the failed sale.
 
Its always a risk but a necessary one unfortunately. The EA should work under your instructions, but what she was really guilty of was working in an ethical fashion. What you instructed her to do could have led to gazumping. On the up side the next 8 weeks should be busy as its traditionally a good selling period so you can keep fingers crossed. If you do find another purchaser push for them to sign within 3 weeks of deposit.
 
Thanks for the info.
Seems the market is against sellers in more ways than one :((
Any tips on how to reach closure within 3 weeks of deposit being taken?
 
It wouldn't be closure but once contracts are signed then you would have a 10% deposit (non-refundable). The minute a booking deposit is taken put pressure on EA and solicitor so that contracts go out immediately and the EA makes sure purchaser is doing his checks promptly i.e getting a surveyor in etc etc. Once the contract is signed you can relax a bit, up until that your at the mercy of the purchaser.
 
Thanks.
Did all this the last time, was almost sitting on them all! Will just keeo fingers crossed I suppose!
 
The title to this thread seems incorrect. There appears to be no query about the solicitors fee, rather it's the management company fee.
 
waltzer said:
The fee is payable to the solicitor!
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No , the solicitor has incurred it on your behalf! The solicitor has or will have to pay this to the management company so you have to reimburse the solicitor byt it is not in any way a solicitors fee.
 
Why is it that so many people mix the solicitors fee with the outlay to third parties. Probably best for solicitor to have requested that client pay it directly.

The solicitors fee is the cost of the solicitors own time acting on your behalf in the transaction.
 
Guys,
No mix up here. I fully understand that the fee is a management company charge. I know that I pay to solicitor for outlay they have incurred in relation to management fee.
My gripe is that any seller costs incurred for failed sales should not be payable by the seller and should be funded by the potential purchaser.
 
The potential purchaser also has probably had to pay costs for an engineer's survey and so they too have lost out. They may even have to pay their solicitor a fee for the work already done. Can you not ask the management company to do the document the next time for a reduced fee if it is created in the near future as it won't have many changes to it. Alternatively increase your selling price by the amount of costs you've incurred and that way you'll recoup it.
 
waltzer said:
My gripe is that any seller costs incurred for failed sales should not be payable by the seller and should be funded by the potential purchaser.
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Even if the seller is the one who pulls out?
 
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