Legal Advice on Suing a Solicitor Regarding a Property purchase
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Description
Experience Level: Entry
Estimated project duration: less than 1 week
Industry: Legal
Legal topic: Property
Description of legal work: In 2009 at the height of the financial crisis I ran and owned a house building company. The company was under enormous presure to reduce the bank loan. I sent an email to the bank manager stating that there was a deal to be done which meant we sold a house and the bank got £250,000 in cash. The bank replied by email saying yes they would agree to the sale.
The deal involved a sale to my wife incorporating a shared equity (where the company retained a share (35%) of the property. My solictor was informed and my wife raised a mortgage and when we came to complete the purchase the bank changed the ground rules and demanded 100% of the net sale proceeds not the £250,000 agreed.
My solictor has a letter from the bank stating this and he also phoned the bank on the day of completion to cofirm they would accept 100% of the sale proceeds. Unfortunelty he died a few months later so this phone call cannot be verfied except from the note he made in his log.
The solcitor transferred the net sales proceeds which amounted to £253,700 to the bank. The bank made more enquires and were infomeed by my solictor that the sales price was £425,000. This made them suspicous as they only received £253700. It was explained that it involved a shared equity deal. They had not known about this beforehand but had never asked. It was not deliberaelty kept from them but they never asked for any details. My email made it clear it was "deal" and implied not a stRaGHTrift frowARD SALE.
Since then the bank has refused to supply a DS3 form releasing the property from their legal charge. This despite the fact that have had the £253,700 for over 4 years. My wife's solicitor has managed to place some sort of charge or caution on the property which has meant the mortgage company has surprisingly not caused any problems.
my wife has apid the mortgage for the last 4 years. She cannot sell it or do anything with it although we have used it as a holiday home for ourselves and family and friends. It is on Isle of Wight.
I am close to agreeing a deal with the bank I believe who will probably agree to finally release the DS3 but will not pay any compensation. My wife has lost out on 4 years rental income of approx £1100 month.
They have suggested I seek compemnsation from my solictor. I understand thAT NORMaLLY A SOLICTOR woulkd not hand over funds for completion except as "held to order" where they agree to finally complete the deal when they have all the paperwork - inclduding thre DS3 in hand.
in this case my wife's solicitor relied on the letter and phone call with the bank, who then reneged on the deal.
My question is this. Can my wife sue her solictor as he appears to have acted incorrectly by releasing the funds without a cast iron guarantee or some sort of legally watertight undertaking thAT THE BANk would release the DS3.
Her solictitor is of the opinion that a letter and vertbal telephone agreement from a High Street Bank was ample to discharge his oblgations to my wife and that it is the bank who should pay any compensation.
The company was wound up 2 years ago.
My inclination is to accept the bank's verbal offer to release the charge and agree to that it is in full and final settlement with no compensation. At least my wife then owns the house and can let it or sell it and stop further losses. She has now retired and is suffering FINancial haRDSHIP DUE TO THIS. We are pretty desperate now to stop this haemorrhaging of cash.
We can then go for compensation from the solicitor. We have been very reluctant to suggest this to the solicitor as we need his help in dealing with the bank and needed them "onside" as it were.
To repeat, my question is this. Can my wife sue her solictor as he apears to have acted incorrectly by releasing the funds without a cast iron gurantee or some sort of legally watertight undertaking thAT THE BANk would release the DS3.
Extra notes:
Legal topic: Property
Description of legal work: In 2009 at the height of the financial crisis I ran and owned a house building company. The company was under enormous presure to reduce the bank loan. I sent an email to the bank manager stating that there was a deal to be done which meant we sold a house and the bank got £250,000 in cash. The bank replied by email saying yes they would agree to the sale.
The deal involved a sale to my wife incorporating a shared equity (where the company retained a share (35%) of the property. My solictor was informed and my wife raised a mortgage and when we came to complete the purchase the bank changed the ground rules and demanded 100% of the net sale proceeds not the £250,000 agreed.
My solictor has a letter from the bank stating this and he also phoned the bank on the day of completion to cofirm they would accept 100% of the sale proceeds. Unfortunelty he died a few months later so this phone call cannot be verfied except from the note he made in his log.
The solcitor transferred the net sales proceeds which amounted to £253,700 to the bank. The bank made more enquires and were infomeed by my solictor that the sales price was £425,000. This made them suspicous as they only received £253700. It was explained that it involved a shared equity deal. They had not known about this beforehand but had never asked. It was not deliberaelty kept from them but they never asked for any details. My email made it clear it was "deal" and implied not a stRaGHTrift frowARD SALE.
Since then the bank has refused to supply a DS3 form releasing the property from their legal charge. This despite the fact that have had the £253,700 for over 4 years. My wife's solicitor has managed to place some sort of charge or caution on the property which has meant the mortgage company has surprisingly not caused any problems.
my wife has apid the mortgage for the last 4 years. She cannot sell it or do anything with it although we have used it as a holiday home for ourselves and family and friends. It is on Isle of Wight.
I am close to agreeing a deal with the bank I believe who will probably agree to finally release the DS3 but will not pay any compensation. My wife has lost out on 4 years rental income of approx £1100 month.
They have suggested I seek compemnsation from my solictor. I understand thAT NORMaLLY A SOLICTOR woulkd not hand over funds for completion except as "held to order" where they agree to finally complete the deal when they have all the paperwork - inclduding thre DS3 in hand.
in this case my wife's solicitor relied on the letter and phone call with the bank, who then reneged on the deal.
My question is this. Can my wife sue her solictor as he appears to have acted incorrectly by releasing the funds without a cast iron guarantee or some sort of legally watertight undertaking thAT THE BANk would release the DS3.
Her solictitor is of the opinion that a letter and vertbal telephone agreement from a High Street Bank was ample to discharge his oblgations to my wife and that it is the bank who should pay any compensation.
The company was wound up 2 years ago.
My inclination is to accept the bank's verbal offer to release the charge and agree to that it is in full and final settlement with no compensation. At least my wife then owns the house and can let it or sell it and stop further losses. She has now retired and is suffering FINancial haRDSHIP DUE TO THIS. We are pretty desperate now to stop this haemorrhaging of cash.
We can then go for compensation from the solicitor. We have been very reluctant to suggest this to the solicitor as we need his help in dealing with the bank and needed them "onside" as it were.
To repeat, my question is this. Can my wife sue her solictor as he apears to have acted incorrectly by releasing the funds without a cast iron gurantee or some sort of legally watertight undertaking thAT THE BANk would release the DS3.
Extra notes:
Alan N.
94% (16)Projects Completed
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