Developer / legal screw up

T

trustno1

Guest
I arranged to view a showhouse last September..asking price €465k. I arrived on a Monday to view and the agent advised that after the showhouse had closed the previous day, the developer had instructed the agent to increase the price to €485k. Needless to say...felt mugged, but decided to go ahead and sign on the dotted line. The contracts duly arrived and I went to my solicitor's office to sign them. It was then that I noticed that the price on the contract was €480k. I mentioned this to my solicitor and he suggested that given the fluctuating prices over the weekend I purchased, the agent might have got it wrong and the developers solicitor might have got it right....or vice versa. He asked me if I wanted him to contact the developers solicitor and verify. I told my solicitor to do nothing and to see how things developed. In May 06 I was advised that the house was ready for snagging and that the final legal contracts had arrived at my solicitors office. The price was still €480k. Contracts at this price were signed and exchanged and I moved into the house at the beginning of July.

Out of the blue last week the following letter arrives at my solicitors. "We are very sorry....undercharged your client....€5k...apologise for the inconvenience....very much appreciate receiving the sum of €5k at your earliest convenience.

My solicitor passed me on the letter today for my information. My question is...where do I stand legally?

Needless to say...dont have €5k burning a hole in my pocket. When it came to the mortgage I just borrowed €5k less.
 
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Care to offer an opinion Clubman?? Only got the letter this evening when I got home from work. No doubt will speak to my solicitor tomorrow morning.
 
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Well I think you should only have to pay the price that is on the contract, signed by both you and the developer. Maybe the shortfall is the EA's commission. I2ANAL!
 
Difficult one. On a straight forward objective legal basis - signed contracts and completed deal for E480K looks tight enough.

However, looking into it, you may have known what was happening, that it was a mistake and I'm not so sure that staying schtum puts you on the high moral ground! Will developer follow through? If you say no, will he sue? Different people have different views on this - you have to make your own mind up and be prepared to take the consequences.

mf
 
I would assume that what is on the contracts, signed and exchanged is what you have to pay. Anything beyond that is up to them to prove an oral agreement and with an existing signed contract that would be very hard to overturn. Your solicitor should be able to tell clearly where you stand.
 
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