Is it normal for a solicitor to encourage a buyer to exchange contracts before a mortgage is in place? I have been encouraged to do so and am in a bit of a tricky place as I’m having trouble getting the required mortgage amount. Any thoughts would be really helpful. Thanks
Hi, and thanks for your question. We obviously can not give a definitive answer without knowing your particular circumstances. However, as a general rule, it would be extremely unusual to exchange with a mortgage in place (unless there is some other way that you could complete ie finding funds elsewhere). Once contracts are exchanged buyer and seller are bound in law to ‘complete’. If purchaser’s mortgage does not come through, and they fail to complete, they are in breach of contract. You would expect them to lose their deposit, and they may be sued for other losses suffered by the seller too.
