hi, i think messer might be putting it mildly. Contracts came out originally and said sale funds were to be used to discharge their current ptsb mortgage, followed a few weeks later by a letter from their solicitor to ours saying, actually there is a residual balance but clients have the cash and are going to lodge the money. Based on this our solicitor had us sign the contract. Vendors solicitor wrote yday and said they havent heard from their client about whether they were obtaining a consent to sell or were going to go ahead and lodge the funds to make up the residual balance (which is what they told their solicitor they were going to do). Letter also said, and i paraphrase...we deem their is no contract in place as our clients have not completed. So i take it from this that we can go and get our money back!
We tried to contact ptsb directly to see if they intend to sell but could get no info over the phone. Friends of ours know the vendor, insist they are wealthy, showed us their recently built palatial home, a monstrous country house, and although they won't put it in writing, their solicitor has said to ours on the qt, that they have the cash to pay the residual but now want a deal from the bank. So, if they are as well off as they appear, I cannot for the life of me work out how they think the bank will give them a deal? But you wouldnt know what way they have their assets divvied up. Rents have never been higher and yet the house we wanted to buy is sitting vacant for 9 months at least, but if they had tenants, they could be coining it in, so I don't understand it. I can't think what the issue might be. Maybe they are stringing the bank along until prices rise and they come out of negative equity, who knows. The EA said they were filling in a progress report for the bank because the vendor now wants a deal...but have since not taken our calls or offered any further info. I still don't know if they knew or not.
Personally, i've dusted myself off and started viewing again. Havent had the heart to tell the kids yet. I've heard of a number of people that this has happened to in recent times. Buyer Beware!