Ready, Set, Don’t Go!
Buying a new property is probably one of the most expensive and exciting purchases anyone makes. However, what can make it even more expensive is where something unexpected happen.
If you watch those “location, location, location” or “homes under the hammer” style programmes, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the purchase part itself is the easy bit, and that if anything is going to go wrong, it will happen once you’ve got the keys, but there are still plenty of things that can go wrong long before then.
Whilst there is no end of things that can happen, these are the most common ones.
- One side or the other changing their mind – until you’ve exchanged contracts, either side can pull out, and the other side have no recourse, even if they’ve spent a lot of money and it puts their sale or purchase at risk.
- Something unexpected comes up in the searches – that’s why we do them, to see if there is anything you need to know!
- One side or the other can’t raise the funds they need – mortgages are not guaranteed, particularly at the moment.
- The parties can’t reach an agreement – just because you’ve agreed on the purchase price, doesn’t mean things won’t change. If, for example, something comes up in a search or valuation that changes things, one side might want a price reduction but the other side might say no.
As I can’t give you a crystal ball or a magic wand, I can’t guarantee that these things won’t happen to you, but if you are aware of the risks, you’ll be more able to deal with them – just by knowing that there are risks will hopefully help you minimise them by, for example, not booking your removal van until you know it’s safe to do so!
Kleyman & Co Solicitors. The full service law firm. Making the property race child’s play.