Did your end of August transactions all complete yesterday? This is a key date in the calendar, as families complete their moves to time with the start of the new school year. Yesterday afternoon, I was alerted to problems.
At about 4 pm yesterday I received an email from a Bold Legal Group member firm: “Conveyancing has been disrupted again today due to issues with CHAPS payments and Lloyds Bank. It would appear that the Lloyds CHAPS system was overloaded due to it being a busy end of the month.
“This is hard enough for all of us to deal with and I was therefore extremely disappointed when the next firm of conveyancers served notice to complete on us as early as 2.19 pm.
“I was in the middle of trying to find out from Lloyds what the issue was and when it was likely to be resolved. I kept the conveyancers concerned fully informed of the situation and I was surprised to receive the notice.
“I don’t consider this was helpful to anyone. Banking issues are not something we have control of as conveyancers, and it seems that the days have long gone when all conveyancers in a chain all pulled together in the best interests of our clients.”
As at close of business I don’t know if all transactions completed on the due date. No doubt that information will be forthcoming as today progresses. It may be that the recently extended CHAPS payment/receipt times were of help.
The majority of BLG members thought that serving a Notice to Complete at only 2.19 was ‘keen’ to say the least. Rather than wasting time serving notices to complete, the approach of many is that they are trying to get their clients moved on the day of completion.
The delay is not being caused by an unwillingness to complete by the parties to the transactions, it was a bank that seemed unable to cope. One wonders if the solicitor who served the notice had a special condition in his/her contract providing the right to charge a few hundred pounds for preparing and serving the notice.
However, a handful felt the best way to protect their clients’ interests was to serve a Notice to Complete ASAP. In these days of faceless firms, fraudulent firms and in some cases, uncommunicative and antiquated firms, can you blame them?
In the case quoted above there may have been a perfectly good reason why the Notice was served so promptly.
I wonder if a Notice had been served further up the chain and it was falling back down the chain and had to be served to protect the position of the upwards chain? Sometimes if a Notice is served, there is some other reason that belies it being served (purchase abroad, very expensive property, etc).
Conveyancing is (or should be) a non-contentious area of law. Therefore, what we are all trying to achieve is to get people into their new homes – we are all have a common goal, so why make it more difficult?
In addition, the risk of issuing a Notice to Complete is that the buyer is suddenly ready but then the seller can’t get removals, so they can’t move and suddenly it’s the seller who is in default, not the buyer.
What do EYE readers think? Are any of you still waiting for transactions to complete?
- Rob Hailstone is founder of conveyancing network, the Bold Group
In addition, the risk of issuing a Notice to Complete is that the buyer is suddenly ready but then the seller can’t get removals, so they can’t move and suddenly it’s the seller who is in default, not the buyer.
loving this. You’re imagining that everyone in a chain waits until 2pm on the day of completion to book a mover?
I’d have thought you of all people would be aware of the obligation to provide vacant possession.
As for serving notice : HEAR HEAR – BRAVO.
How many professions in this country want to extol the virtues of a contract and desire self licensing and leeway over enforcement when it suits.
If more firms did this the public would swiftly find that contract times were adhered to.
In such instance yesterday’s events would be such an exception that cooperation will be more forthcoming.
Maybe some firms are getting fed up with the acceptance that it’s a-ok for a family to not pick the keys up until it’s dark.
Once again BRAVO to the firm / person who served.
Moreover, it’s not a one-off a friend of mine last week did the same to buyers that were taking the mickey with funds.
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And the comment about ‘further up the chain’ suggests you were low down.
Why hadn’t your funds moved hours and hours earlier?
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It’s a bit of a tricky one this.
The problem is that as conveyancers we’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t.
However, I do take issue with the comment “that we’re all working to the same goal”.
We are repeatedly given the runaround by other law firms who clearly place client interest somewhere beneath going to Pret for a salad or painting their nails.
We had a case on Friday where a firm refused to complete because everyone had gone to lunch. On a Friday?
Yesterday, a law firm hung up on us twice because we had called to confirm their details to send them the money and they said that they didn’t have the time to talk to us.
Not exactly sure how universal the concept of “all aiming for the same goal” really is…bit of a misty-eyed yearning for the past in my opinion.
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Buyer has problems obtaining his mortgage advance and (quite rightly and fairly) indicates to the seller that completion may not take place, through no fault of his own. Notice to Complete served. Time ticks by, seller tells his removers transaction may not complete, removers stand down. Suddenly, late in the day the funds appear, seller is caught off guard.
Serving the Notice to Complete so quickly achieved nothing but increasing fees for clients.
No one wants their clients to pick up the keys after dark.
You can’t move your funds until your sale money is in.
I said we all have a common goal, not we are all working towards a common goal but take your point pambrose.
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And what time of the day do you imagine all this occurs?
It’s a vacant argument Rob.
The movers cannot simply ‘stand down’. By the time this occurs it’s past the time in the contract.
Meaning the seller will already have to be in compliance with the contract i.e moved out.
If the client has moved 4 tonnes of furniture and personal effects out, cleaned, loaded up the car and handed keys in to estate agents then why shouldn’t they serve notice to complete?
The contract has a date and a time.
You (conveyancers) are employed to ensure the terms of the contract are met.
If you fail, why should there not be a consequence?
Surely if Lloyds are at fault they’ll cover any additional expense you incur? Or is it too much hassle to follow this up yourselves and you think your client should suffer so you don’t have to?
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Get your mortgage monies in the day before completion.
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Sorry, I wonder if I’m missing the point here but drawing down funds on the day of completion is a recipe for disaster.
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Just reporting what I have been told Matt by conveyancers who are still at the coal face and I have endeavoured to present different scenarios and solutions and merely tried to establish if the situation was ongoing or not?
Serving a Notice to Complete does not mean a transaction will complete, it is mainly a penalty mechanism.
Of course the conveyancer will try to recover any losses incurred by their clients. Many have already begun that process and Lloyds have been very fair in the past.
Most firms do request funds the day before completion but that isn’t always possible (for a number of reasons), especially when there is a short time (or no time) between exchange and completion.
Picking another verbal fight with you today Matt was not my intention, having a sensible debate was my.
As I am on holiday this week, and Mrs H is questioning my whereabouts, I will sign off for a few hours at least.
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There is no excuse for not getting your mortgage monies in the day before completion.
I don’t do panic conveyancing and it’s served me well for the last 32 years.
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