completion on 20th dec

M

missnaughty

Registered User
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Hi
I am completing on my house purchase on the 20th of this month, however i have a small matter of not enough funds to cover solicitors fees and stamp duty. i have the deposit money but i have not managed to save the rest.
Will this stop the solicitor from completing on the 20th or can we still go ahead and will they be able to bill me for when i have moved.

any advice would be great as starting to panic!
 
My understanding is they'll need these funds to complete the sale. Maybe someone else can say different but without the funds for the stamp duty at least I cannot see how the sale would proceed. Maybe if you knew a solicitor really well he'd hold back on his fees but I cannot see anyone doing so for money you owe to a third party
 
I wouldn't complete a purchase for a client is I didn't have the Stamp Duty up front.

In the now infamous "Solicitor's Undertaking" which we have to give to banks before drawing down your loan cheque, is a paragraph stating we will have the stamp duty on closing. So it's not me being difficult.

I would be more flexible on the professional fee, if the cleint was well knwon to me.
 
"Will this stop the solicitor from completing on the 20th"

No, seriously, what do you think yourself? If you have known about this presumably for a very long time, does it not seem a bit obvious that you are going to need all of your money in place? That having not managed to save it up til now, that its very unlikely you'll be able to save it over Christmas?

If the solicitor completes without (a) the stamp duty and (b) his fees, do you think, just from this post, you sound like someone who will come up with the money after the event?

mf
 
Truth be told it depends on the solicitor, while they are supposed to hold the stamp duty on closing I know some who don't if they know the clients. Bottom line is if the solicitor doesn't ask for it he may close before Christmas.
 
The deeds have to be stamped within 30 days of the date on the deed of transfer or you start incurring penalties.

When are you likely to the stamp duty? I'd get on to your solicitor ASAP, he or she may have been hoping to have the fees in the office account for the christmas party the next day.

Just kididng, that could never happen....
 
did the reduction in stamp duty in the budget not lower the amount you have to pay? if so you really were very short to close on the 20th?
 
HI
I have the deposit money all 10% however when i just went i have a short fall of 3000 which is the fees and stamp duty.
I could get the 3 grand to them at the end of jan but my solicitor is not in to discuss this so unsure if i should email them or not, or just take my chance on the 20th.
 
"or just take my chance on the 20th."

Thats a great idea. So, its the second last working day of the year. It will be bedlam, you can tell him at the last possible moment, take him completely by surprise and sure he'll have to close. He'll just love you for that and you'll all be great friends. And sure anyway its his own fault if he lets that happen.

:rolleyes:

mf
 
i was asking for advice and was unsure as i said i can not get hold of my solicitor as she is not in.

First timer on here and people being sarcastic, all i wanted was some help.
 
missnaughty said:
i was asking for advice and was unsure as i said i can not get hold of my solicitor as she is not in.

First timer on here and people being sarcastic, all i wanted was some help.
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Well you got your answer! And now you know that it is a problem, you have a week to get it sorted. Or take your chances that you can wriggle through which, you have to accept, is going to put a lot of people under a lot of pressure.

mf
 
missnaughty said:
HI
I have the deposit money all 10% however when i just went i have a short fall of 3000 which is the fees and stamp duty.
I could get the 3 grand to them at the end of jan but my solicitor is not in to discuss this so unsure if i should email them or not, or just take my chance on the 20th.
Click to expand...

could you borrow the 3 grand from anywhere? Credit Union, family, friends?

I think you will find you WILL have a problem with the solicitor but between now and the 20th you have a little time to come up with the 3 grand from somewhere? As you stated, you will have it end of Jan - it wont be a long loan.
 
€3000 should not be a show stopper. I completed last week and haven't paid the solicitor yet. I'd say your priority is to get the stamp duty money together. Perhaps you could approch your bank for slightly more, increase your credit card limit, get a dig out from concerned friends...
 
Like people have said three grand shouldn't be an issue unless you are already stretched to the limit. Could you enquire now about the possibility of moving commpletion to end of january and pay your 10% now. Either way tell your solicitor of your conundrum today and they may have a solution for you, as in in their interests. I'm surprised there is a solicitor in their office on the 20th.
 
can you not just borrow that amount from friends and/or family....3k isn't that much in the grand scheme of buying a house and BTW i didn't pay my solicitor for nearly 6weeks after closing....that's the way they wanted it for some reason
 
Hi there,

If it is 3000 in total and you will have the money in January then I think you should be ok. I bought in July, was billed by the solicitor about a week after closing, seeing as its Christmas I would imagine you will have until mid Jan to pay. I was under the impression (think I enquired on this site) that you have 30 days after completion to pay your stamp.
 
Post 3 clearly states that in order to drawdown the mortgage the solicitor has to have the stamp duty. I wouldn't normally recommend it but can you borrow it on a credit card or get a bank/credit union loan. In January you will have to pay the mortgage, do you have this money too. Just curious, with what are you going to purchase furniture?
 
deedee80 said:
The poster asked for advice.

I don't think comments like:



are being helpful.
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I don't agree - I think these comments are very helpful. Its coming up to Christmas, the most expensive time of the year, missnaughty is buying a house, its a hugely expensive thing to do, she is short of the money to complete, she is hard pressed to find the money ( and to a lot of people 3K is not a huge amount ) and far better to take a long hard look at the reality than to try and ignore it in the hope that it will all somehow be magically fine. Trying to close a transaction on December 20th is enormously stressful for the Vendor, the purchaser and both sets of solicitors. Because of the time of year, there is no margin for error, lack of funds, dodgy searches, papers going astray etc.,etc and people need to know that. Suppose the vendors are trying to close in a chain on the same day and this collapses the chain? What if everyone is trying to actually move over Christmas and this causes a delay until January.

Solicitors should not close deals without ( at least) all the purchase funds, registration fees and stamp duty funds in place. Their undertaking to the lender is to complete the registration which means the Deed/ Mortgage must be stamped/ registered.You can't do that without the funds. If you don't get the funds, you ( solicitor) have to fund it yourself. Technically, stamp duty is payable within 30 days of completion. In reality, once a purchaser has closed, they rarely care what happens after and if they have not paid the stamp duty in advance, they are quite likely to spend any money on essential items for the new house.

Equally with fees, we have what is called the "scale of client gratitude" - it peaks the day before closing and rapidly tails off after. Yes, all of us will let fees go for a week or so with our good clients, people we've done business with before or where there is an ongoing relationship but with new clients solicitors should be paid in advance.

MrMans solution is really the best. Put it off until the funds are available - if the vendors will agree. Otherwise, borrow the funds, if possible. And if not possible, well.............

mf
 
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