Failure to Complete a Property Transaction

A property purchase can be both an exciting and stressful time.  It can take a lot of time and effort before a purchaser is confident of what is buying and commits to exchanging contracts.  Once contracts are exchanged, however, the parties are bound to complete the purchase. Unfortunately, it can sometimes happen that a party to the transaction, be that the buyer or the seller, is unable or unwilling to complete.  This can be because unforeseen circumstances arise or a party simply does not want to go ahead.  This situation may result in a party being held liable for its failure to complete the property transaction.

Fortunately, and typically, contracts to purchase a property will incorporate standard terms and conditions which plan for a number of eventualities. One of those eventualities is precisely this issue, a party’s failure to complete on the agreed upon date giving the innocent party a number of options. One common problem is when a party fails to complete on the agreed-upon date.

As mentioned, there can be any number of reasons why a party may fail to complete the property transaction and, thereby, breach the contract. It could be a problem that has come to light such as misrepresentation may have been made by the seller in the enquiry process, the purchaser's funding falling through or, simply, one of the parties has had a change of heart. Whatever the reason, this can add to an already stressful situation as far as the innocent party is concerned.

How can we help you?

If you have exchanged contracts on a property, and the other party does not proceed and / or has failed to complete, it is important to seek advice early to assess your options and plan the way forward. It might be that the reasons are innocent enough and routinely rectified by mutual agreement. If that is not possible, our team of property litigation specialists are on hand to provide you with the guidance needed to navigate such a claim.

If you have exchanged contracts and are unable to proceed, or the other side is not doing so, then please contact our team on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our team will be in touch.