is this the truth or our my solicitors at fault?
I am due to complete on my house purchase tomorrow. Due to a number of delays (none of which are my fault) we only exchanged contracts today.
About 30 mins after exchanging my solicitor (for the property I’m buying) told me there was a charge on the property that has shown up whilst doing a land registry search, which means we might not be able to complete tomorrow. When I questioned why this search wasn’t done earlier I was told these searches can’t be done until after exchange. The issue is that my seller has to pay off a debt upon sale if the property, something that neither mine or their solicitors seemed to know about.
So tomorrow I have to move out of my current property, with all my furniture and two children (one of which is disabled), but might not be able to move into my new property. I will therefore be liable for moving, storage and housing costs. I have a letter from my solicitors saying we have exchanged and completion is tomorrow. The problem with the land registry arose after this letter.
Are my solicitors telling me the truth? Is this a search that can only be done after exchange or have they made a mistake that should have come to light months ago?