Solicitors left us in limbo no house / no money

[Nomoneyohno]

Hi, I’m hoping someone can give me some advice. My solicitors sent me the initial pack of paperwork and in this it said if it’s a joint mortgage but we want it to go to a single bank account then both parties need to sign a form which we did. The house has been sold and completed and then after completion my solicitors have decided there’s an issue with transferring the equity to a single bank account. Does anyone know if this is just them being difficult or if there’s an actual law about this? But then why would there be a form in their pack with this exact scenario which we both signed? Right now we have no house and no money either. Thanks in advance

This happened to us but i spoke to the solicitor to confirm it was ok and they transferred the money that day

Your solicitor will be holding it until they can verify that it is supposed to go to a single person.

@Ilikewinter it’s myself and a family member on the mortgage so we don’t have a joint account and we have both spoke to the solicitors to confirm we both are agreeable alongside the signed paperwork and they are still refusing to do it! It’s left us with no house and all the equity sat in our solicitors account.

@HasaDigaEebowai they are refusing to pay it into a single account full stop. Even though their own paperwork gives that option?

Why can't they split it and pay half to one and half to the other assuming it was owned 50:50

I dont understand why they wont pay it, me and DH didnt have a joint account at the time so she phoned to confirm it was going into DH account and that I was giving her permission.
50/50 would be another option as mentioned.
Can you / or relative add each other onto a bank account just for the purpose of getting this money?

@Mumski45 we don’t want it split into 2 individual accounts unless the law states they absolutely can’t pay it into a single account. The family member was on the mortgage name only. No payments or money was put in by them. They have called the solicitors and signed paperwork and been into the office to prove their ID and confirmed they agree to this but the solicitors still refuse. It seems strange to me when they issued paperwork for this exact scenario asking us to sign we agree to be paid into a single account

We sold our home in November 2018. We have never had a joint account. My husband had to write a letter saying he was content for the full amount to be paid into my account. It was deposited without delay at the point of completion.

@AintPageantMaterial this is what I can’t understand. So many people have had this issue and once the other person has confirmed in writing they are agreeable for the money to be paid into a single account their solicitors has released the funds. It’s making me think something underhand is going on.

@AintPageantMaterial

We sold our home in November 2018. We have never had a joint account. My husband had to write a letter saying he was content for the full amount to be paid into my account. It was deposited without delay at the point of completion.

I worked in a bank at the time and had a preferential rate savings account - DH signed a form saying the money could be paid to me.

...although I'm seeing a theme here - mine was my husband, as were others. I'm thinking two different family members or unrelated people may be different?

The solicitors probably think there's something underhanded going on. Why would paying it in to two accounts be an issue for you? Unless there's a reason you don't want the proceeds going through somebody's account?

@Trumplosttheelection because the family member has nothing to do with the money. All they did was come on the mortgage as a kind of favour as at the time I was earning less. Alongside this, nothing was mentioned about this being an issue by my solicitors until AFTER completion.

I’m a Conveyancer. I reckon your refusal to pay into separate accounts would raise suspicions. Just get it paid into separate accounts 50/50 and get the relative to transfer the money back to you. Surely they would do that if what you say is true?

We have very strict rules about how money is handled. It will not be in the solicitors office account. It will be in what is called a client account which is effectively an account on your joint names held by the solicitors. They will need to be sure the arrangement is legitimate and that there is no possibility of money laundering or fraud before releasing it. Ordinarily I would expect you both to be required to attend the solicitors office if they are concerned about coercion. Call them in the morning and ask to speak to the supervising partner and they should be able to tell you what the issue is.

Ummm a kind of favour? So they gave their name and their earnings to a mortgage lender who lent you a large sum secured on the basis you were both going to be paying it Off? I think we may have found the problem, you may have committed fraud! There were mortgages where relatives could offer guarantees or protect deposits but just going and saying you are borrowing jointly when you're not us not one if those!

I think @trumplosttheelection may be right. You basically lied to the bank to get a mortgage.

Why can’t it go into two accounts and be transferred? Is there an issue re deprivation of assets?

@HasaDigaEebowai we would happily go into the office as they are allowed to have visits by appointment. @PomPomSugar would you have a large sum of money transferred through your accounts unnecessarily that you had nothing to do with? What if that affected you in the future somehow? Some people don’t like getting involved in transactions and being responsible for large amounts of money. My family member won’t even trust buying anything online!! There’s nothing untoward it’s my money that I have paid off over the years, I can prove the money has solely come from my house, I’m just frustrated as when I have been looking this up there are things that can be done to satisfy my solicitors to transfer it to my account rather than them just saying no!

Until you know what the issue is then nobody can advise you. My guess is that they suspect fraud or coercion or that you have said something to the solicitor that makes them think you have done something illegal and so they now have to get permission to release the money. It might be as simple as you haven’t paid their bill though. I wouldnt expect it to be easy to get an appointment in person. We are mainly working remotely. There is obviously a significant issue though because we are not allowed just to hold on to client money without good reason.

How did somebody who doesn't even like buying online sign up for a mortgage they weren't going to be participating in paying back?

There may also be a tax liability if it wasn’t really your relatives primary residence (capital gains tax liability)

The more you say the more dodgy it looks. That’s why the solicitor is holding onto the money.

This sounds like fraud OP. You realise your mortgage was probably granted on the basis that both you and your relative were paying it back?

If that's not the case, you could be breaching your contract. I wouldn't give the money over either and would look to report I'm afraid

I don't think you're acknowledging the issue. You see if solely as your money and your house but it isn't because you share a mortgage. You and the other party may have an informal agreement but from the solicitors point of view its looks dodgy. As for not wanting to get involved in large amounts passing though their account that could affect them 'somehow' in the future. They signed their name on a mortgage with you- that is far bigger than some money passing through their account. Surely if you trust them on your mortgage you can trust them to transfer you the money