Solicitor mistake on day of exchange

[livingthesimplelife]

Any advice gratefully recieved!
It has taken 6 months of me and my solicitor pestering my onward purchase to get to the point of exchange. This was meant to be today. My solicitor confirmed earlier in the week all was well from our side. My house is half-packed etc.

until she calls me 30 minutes before exchange to say she had forgotten to look at the search results and has realised that the land is potentially contaminated. She said my mortgage lender won't lend. She's applied for searches from another company to see if results are any different but I can't see how the answers would change?!

I'm just so despondent so maybe some words of encouragement in case this all falls through!!

Good god how did she manage to forget to look at searches?! And there's a problem with them, what a mess. I hope you're putting in a complaint.
I'm not sure how any searches would be different, have you spoken to any other lenders? Are you using a broker?

I genuinely have no idea. This is a highly rated local solicitor too. Ironically, we have been complaining to each other about the fact my vendor is using a cheap online conveyancer! I don't know what to do...if this falls through, do you think I should kick up a fuss about having to pay legal fees?!

A conveyancing environmental search is not a soil test. It’s a risk assessment based on property address and postcode. If there is a potential risk of contamination due to historic land use, you can purchase indemnity insurance to cover remediation costs should contamination ever be discovered in the future. I suspect a lender would be prepared to proceed provided insurance is obtained to cover the risk.

She has said her advice will likely be to not purchase the property as it will create big difficulties when re-selling. I did ask about indemnity (clutching at straws and all that!!).

Just so frustrating.

Yes absolutely! Had this issue been identified immediately you'd have been able to make informed decisions on a timely manner. I'm sorry I don't anything much about the issue and how best it should be resolved. Hopefully someone else will come along with bit more knowledge.

Is this a new build property or one that's not been marketed for donkey's years? If not, surely any potential contamination was identified in previous searches and mortgaged then.

Bloody hell. I always ask about searches but you shouldn't have to. This is just so routine I cant imagine how this happened unless your sicitor is offloading her work to very junior staff.
You shod get compensation fro. Them if the sale falls apart.
DS is buying his first home and we have been scrutinising every bit of paperwork together so no mistakes are .are.

if this falls through, do you think I should kick up a fuss about having to pay legal fees?!
Make bloody sure you do!