Is this a normal condition on a draft contract?

[globex]

Hello - the vendor's solicitor has FINALLY almost sent over the draft contract but it apparently (I haven't actually seen it yet) has clauses in it stating that if we transfer the money even an hour later than the time specified we will be liable for 'damages' and interest payments to the vendor - is this normal?!

Our solicitor seems to think its 'immoral' but to be honest I think they've built up an extreme hatred of each other over the past few months and I'm worried we might be stuck in the middle of something.

I'm so close to telling the vendor to f*ck off and die - this might be the last nail..

yes it is normal, there is normally a time that money has to be transfered by due to long chains etc to be able to pass the money along the chains. It is usually about 2pm. Solicitors don't always take any notice of this unless they feel they are getting the run around but the other side.
It isn't very professional of your solicitor to think it is immoral as I have seen these costs enforced by other solicitors. Yes they can be unneccessary but they are there for reason

Thanks whoops - I'll have to have a look at the contract and judge the morality for myself.

I understand that the money must be transferred on time but I'm worried that my solicitor is worried. And the vendor's solicitor has been such an arse that its not past him to put in something horrible just for the fun of it..

unfortunatly there are solicitors that are a pain in the arse (I know I worked for one!!) but there are others that do everything properly. Unless there have been problems with many transactions with these solicitors I don't think yours should be. What area of the country are you in?

We're in London and that's where we're buying the house - but the vendor's solicitor is in Plymouth.. I'm not sure why - perhaps he went out of his way to find the sh*ttiest, most incompetent person he could. They're mostly a injury compensation company from what the website says. Maybe this makes them more suspicious.

Now I'm starting to worry that the money WON'T transfer on time - is that likely? The bank were really really slow in sending our mortgage offer..

It is quite common but it is subject to your and their solicitors negotiating. Sometimes it will include all sorts of compensation such as hotels, bridging loans etc, etc. The contract will normally have a time limit (such as 2pm)after which they can charge you interest at a standard daily rate. It is probably the extra bits that your solicitor might be getting the hump about. Try and find out if it is much above the usual "daily interest" clause.

It depends where you are in the chain as to whether this is likely to be an issue. If you are at the bottom then you will hopefully be able to send the money first thing and everything (banks sending money on time permitting) will be hunky dorey.

BTW its not likely to be the vendor it'll be their solicitors standard clauses.

It depends really how the solicitors bank. I used to work in a solicitors cashroom. The transfers used to be written out on a form, signed and then sent to the bank and then someone else in the bank would look over it before sending the money, our mantra used to be "it can take anytime up to 5pm". It used to depend on who was hitting buttons at what time, where. Although I am guessing nowadays the cashiers in the solicitors office may be able to transfer the money themselves directly to the other sides bank as electronic banking has come more into play.

We aren't in a chain and the clauses seem to relate to paying the sellers moving costs etc if there is a delay in the transfer of money.

I should just probably forget about it. My solicitor keeps crossing it out, theirs keep putting it back in. God knows why.

If they WERE in a chain would there be any reason for them to hide it from us?

Oops - old screen name for above post..