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I am a seller who has already exchanged contracts on the 24th May. I have just lost my job and would like to pull out of the sale if possible. Could you please let me know if this is possible, and if so what are the legal and financial implications. My solicitor said id be better off buying a new property, due to being sued BIG TIME she was very unhelpful and I only have two weeks left before completion of the sale. Any previous or legal advice would be much appreciated.
 
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Picture of MELBOY
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This is a question often asked on this Forum and here is the answer.... which you may not like.............

You will lose your deposit. Normally 10% of the purchase price.

(and have a few pins stuck into your effergy by the Seller Big Grin)

Mel.
 
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Sorry got that wrong......your the Seller
Then you can't pull out....you have to complete.
 
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Were you selling and buying at the same time? The best thing to do would be to complete on both, you never know you may get another job in the meantime, so don't panic just yet. hopefully you have some equity that might tide you over in the meantime and as Melboy says you'll lose your deposit. Look at it this way If you don't complete the sale you'd still have to pay the mortgage on the old home and you'd be back to square one should you find a new job soon.

Good luck
Forde


~Feel the fear, but do it anyway~
 
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Sorry hon, your home is sold now. You've signed the paperwork. If buying, you could forfeit your Deposit and pull out... but as the Seller, you have sold. Now you either buy a replacement property or you rent.

Sorry to hear that you have lost your job. It happened to me recently and it sucks... but at least with the house sold you no longer have the mortgage to worry about. You have time to rent cheaply & get yourself straightened out, before hopefully securing a new job and searching for your next home in the great position of being chain free.

Good Luck

Ary.


--------------------------------------
***Do not, I repeat Do NOT feed the Trolls! ***
*** Rudolph All Hail the mighty hamsters! Rudolph ***
 
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Hey guys thanks for the kind support, i wish i had never exchanged contracts even though i have made £220k profit i still love my house and i just dont want to move, i would do anything to stay, maybe i can come to some agreement with the buyers! surley i can pull out,nothing is impossible!!
 
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Sympathies re the job. But why did you sell your house if you love it and don't want to leave it? Bit late to change your mind now. Take the profit and move on.
 
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Picture of holy cheeses
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quote:
even though i have made £220k profit


Sausage there went my sympathy! Big Grin

the way I read it at the end, it seems like it's less to do with the job issue and more you just don't want to leave the house full stop. In which case, out of interest, why sell/exchange etc in the first place?

Unless there's a bad personal issue reason, in which case Red Face please ignore my being nosy and don't answer!
 
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quote:
maybe i can come to some agreement with the buyers! surley i can pull out,nothing is impossible!!


TBH I'm not quite sure how serious we should take your post, but let's give it the benefit of the doubt....

They say everything and everyone has its / their price, so if you would generously share some of your 'profit' with your buyer he may want to "come to some agreement".

Personally i agree with velvet, make the move.

Keep us posted
 
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Not surprised your solicitor is being unhelpful, it will cause a lot of problems in the upstream chain. Are your buyers selling a property? Are their buyers selling a property?

If you are set on extricating yourself it will cost you 10% of the asking price, and you are likely to be sued for a sum equivalent to all the deposits in the chain, PLUS a sum equivalent to all the conveyancing fees in the chain.

Take your profit and buy somewhere in France.
 
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I am a seller, not a buyer

Yes i am serious, i lost my job three months ago, got offered a job in NewYork so made a rash decision to sell my home and move over their. Now my partner doesnt want to move to the USA and we have sold our home, well exchanged contracts. I would love to hear from anyone who has actually pulled out of a sale after exchanging contracts. Still not clear as what to do, may end up losing £40k or may end up being sued to force the sale of the house.
 
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You could try to arrange to buy it back!! The new owners could get it revalued, because it would have gone up in value since you started the process then you could add a bit on top. But seeing as you have now lost your job, question is, will it be worth???? And how could you do it? As the others have said, time to move on, there's a job and home in the offering don't waste you time on what might have been, or you'll miss the opportunity now being handed to you.

Good luck
FORDE


~Feel the fear, but do it anyway~
 
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Im going to meet with my solicitor today, my worry is that she has never dealt with a case were the seller has pulled out after exchanging contracts. I need to know the exact legal implications and costs before i go ahead with this. The costs arnt my major concern, im more worried about being sued and forced to sell.
 
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It all depends on the buyers' attitude. He is in the driving seat. If he is willing to reconsider you may have a chance.

I guess your solicitor has not been been in touch about this with the seller's solicitor yet?
 
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She has probably never had to deal with this scenario because it makes little sense for someone in your position to pull out after exchange. Unless your buyers are saints, it is too late to change your mind without expensive and unpleasant consequences.
 
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You have technically sold anyway which is why the Solicitor is advising you to proceed to completion.
You no longer own the property that you are in.
Mel.
 
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Ok i have met with the solicitor and i can pull out if i wish, their is no Guarantee that I will keep my property as they may try to sue me and force me out of my property. I will also incur massive costs not only from my solicitor but also from the buyer, and their buyer. Based on this I do have an option and I can pull out if I want, so its not true that once contracts have been exchanged “that’s it” you do have an option but it’s a costly one. On the other hand the buyers may not have the bottle or cash to peruse me through the courts, they may just settle for the 10% + legal costs. It’s a massive risk, so im definitely going to continue with the sale. Wink
 
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quote:
Originally posted by Onelove100:
you do have an option but it’s a costly one.


So your solicitor confirmed what we said on here. I am glad you have been persuaded that the best course of action is to complete.
 
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Yes, I agree Smile.

Perhaps the OP should just see it as an opportunity to move forward into a new life now.

I sold a while back for personal reasons that almost fell through (and still possibly might Eek).

But what it taught me is that change *always* provides opportunities. And if you have a chunk of cash in the bank to cushion you, the possibilities are almost endless, you may well have too many options Wink.
 
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quote:
And if you have a chunk of cash in the bank to cushion you, the possibilities are almost endless, you may well have too many options


Give me some!
 
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My friend was selling their home and buying another. They exchanged contracts with their buyer and then their seller. Then the owner of place they were buying changed mind on the day of the move. My mate had to stay put and pull out from his seller. Well complicated. But my friend has to pay the solicitor and estate agent fees.
quote:
Originally posted by Onelove100:
I am a seller, not a buyer

Yes i am serious, i lost my job three months ago, got offered a job in NewYork so made a rash decision to sell my home and move over their. Now my partner doesnt want to move to the USA and we have sold our home, well exchanged contracts. I would love to hear from anyone who has actually pulled out of a sale after exchanging contracts. Still not clear as what to do, may end up losing £40k or may end up being sued to force the sale of the house.


*Everyone is entitled to their own opinion*
*Liam* gets my support
****WOOHOO CHARLEY IS OUT****
 
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So what your saying is that your friends buyer pulled out of the sale on the day of completion after they had exchanged contracts! Did your friend sue them, im desperate to know what the outcome of this was, ive still got cold feet and want to pull out.. 7 days left before completion.. cheers for the feed back kn1ghtbabe
 
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Have you actually thought about the buyer's perspective in this in this quest to pull out, aside from worrying whether they'll have enough money to sue you?

If you fancy some reading, on page 9 you'll find a post from brock-cruse, near the bottom, about seller dropping out.

And ...
"for reasons that I do not want to go into, these people have cost me much more than the 4 months that we have put into this. they have destroyed me psychologically, i was going to quit smoking the moment we exchanged contracts, and I am sure a lot of people can vouch for me when I say it is impossible to do this when you suffer from all this stress. I ended up doubling if not tripling the amount of cigarettes that I smoke. There are a stream of other things that I wouldn't want to go into, but when I say they have destroyed what I was hoping to be a wonderful year, I really do mean it.

I think for anyone to get away with ruining peoples' lives on the assumption that they can just do it is criminal." ... is from a post on page 11, called At What Point Do You Know.

As both of these were related to purchases BEFORE exchange, perhaps you should consider reading these to remind yourself what the actual impact may be on these buyers of yours who you have ALREADY exchanged with and who are presumably expecting to have the keys to the new home they have legally now bought and waited possibly months for in 7 DAYS TIME.
Purely because you have cold feet.

I know I could not do it.
 
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quote:
Originally posted by Onelove100:
ive still got cold feet and want to pull out.. 7 days left before completion.. cheers for the feed back kn1ghtbabe


As I hinted before, you would only have a chance of pulling out without too much aggravation if your buyer is willing to cooperate.

Have you (through your solicitor) approached him about this?
 
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I agree with you HC, I couldn't do it either.

As the OP's solicitor has told them, there is nothing technically to stop them pulling out, but the implications are widespread. Yes, there is a hefty financial cost but also there are moral issues. Yes, the property is not their