Should I pay the 10% deposit to the solicitor yet?

[stargirl04]

Hi, I'm buying a flat in SE London and my vendors' solicitors are pushing for completion by mid-May.

I'm a FTB so haven't done this before - can someone please advise me on the best course of action?

My solicitor is still awaiting results for extra searches I paid for: environmental hazards, planning applications and any church maintenance fees I may be liable for.

I rang solicitors today and spoke to an assistant. They said the invoice I have been sent is only a draft but suggested I pay the 10% deposit on the property required before exchange. (£19k)

I said that I'd prefer to wait for the result of the extra searches, in case anything of concern should arise.

I also said that if my vendor were to ask for more money because prices had gone up in the last 3 months, I would pull out, and for this reason I preferred not to pay the £19k deposit yet. This money is a large chunk of my life savings and the word "deposit" suggests I could lose it!

However, the assistant reassured me that the 19k would only be held by them until exchange, and they would not proceed without my permission.

In short, she said that if I were to pull out because of anything bad that might show up in the extra searches, or if the vendor ghost-gazumped me, the deposit would be fully refundable.

If I don't pay it until I absolutely have to, which the assistant said would be okay, would this be a disincentive for the solicitor to get moving on my sale?

I want to proceed as quickly as possible but don't want to risk losing my money.

Thanks!

[cestlavielife]

the solicitor wont pay the money no until the actual exchange. so it is just a matter of you deciding when you transfer the funds to the solicitor. ask solicitor where they hold the money, if you worried.

[mandy214]

Exchange and completion are 2 separate steps. If completion is going to be around mid May, then generally speaking exchange takes place 7 or 14 days before completion. You absolutely shouldn't exchange before you have the results of the searches back and your solicitor won't expect you to - they should be advising you of all issues relating to the property (following receipt of search results) before you exchange. It is right though that the solicitor can only exchange upon your instructions so if you pay the money to the solicitor in readiness for exchange, it is still your money until you instruct them to exchange. If you do pull out, the money will be refunded.

[pookamoo]

It's helpful for the solicitor to have your deposit as early as possible. They have to keep it in a special client account, and you are entitled to any interest (which wouldn't be much, sadly!).

They can't send it anywhere until after exchange, so it is protected.

[specialsubject]

you will get it back if the transaction does not proceed to exchange. The only reason to delay would be if you could earn interest on the money, and at the moment it would be peanuts. Send it across and the solicitor can then exchange if all is well otherwise.

as noted, it goes in a ring-fenced client account.

keep chasing your solicitor to push things along, when (we hope) all is ready they will call you to confirm 100% that you are happy to exchange. Saying 'yes' to this commits you to buy and the seller to sell at the agreed price.

good luck!