Mortgage / Estate agent issues...

Converge · 28 Jun 2011 at 20:32

Hi guys,

To cut a relatively long story short, I've been lead up the garden path for the last 3 months by an estate agents and their mortgage department. I was hoping that I might be able to get some useful advice on what to do in regards to recouping costs...

I was lead to believe that my property was a shared equity (not ownership) property. This in turn lead me to being told that the mortgage was going to be a certain amount, and that I would not have to pay rent on the equity loaned by the housing association, a perk of the shared equity scheme. However, after having had a very reasonable 65% mortgage approved by the bank (25% equity loan, 10% deposit) My mortgage advisor then mysteriously 'left' the company.

A few weeks later, things go pear-shaped and my mortgage offer is put under investigation by recommendation of my solicitor due to the fact the figures are supposedly wrong. This then leads to a senior figure in the mortgage company having a look over it and immediately discovering that it's a load of rubbish and that I've been fed a pile of pony by the advisor who left, and the estate agents. The estate agents having told me originally that the property was shared equity too and that it had been mistakenly listed as shared ownership.
This means that i've spent money on fee's, surveys etc whilst having been told a complete load of lies.

So now, I'm having to basically stump up a lot more cash for deposit in order to get near the same deal I had previously or walk away with over 1k wasted in surveys and fees.

I was thinking of trying to get the money back from the estate agents/mortgage chaps seeing as they've not done their job properly and have fed me misinformation for over 3 months now.

Any ideas of how to go about this? Small claims court or something similar? Am I entitled to compensation? Or not a leg to stand on?

Cheers in advance

Ahleckz · 28 Jun 2011 at 20:35

Property and contract law of this nature are incredibly complex. If you have lots in writing and have a belief that you can keep on top of it all then you could give small claims a shot. However, I'd be going straight to the solicitor and letting them deal with it.
You'll likely get a larger payout which will hopefully negate any fees.

Converge · 28 Jun 2011 at 20:38

Ahleckz said:
Property and contract law of this nature are incredibly complex. If you have lots in writing and have a belief that you can keep on top of it all then you could give small claims a shot. However, I'd be going straight to the solicitor and letting them deal with it.
You'll likely get a larger payout which will hopefully negate any fees.

Thanks for the response mate! I do have a lot of stuff in writing yes, including a copy of the original mortgage offer complete with (now) incorrect figures. I'm guessing there'd be a sizeable cost with getting a solicitor on board for this though?

Ahleckz · 28 Jun 2011 at 20:41

Converge said:
Thanks for the response mate! I do have a lot of stuff in writing yes, including a copy of the original mortgage offer complete with (now) incorrect figures. I'm guessing there'd be a sizeable cost with getting a solicitor on board for this though?

It depends on what you have really and how easy the case is. It sounds pretty simple to me, but that all depends on what you have but sounds like you have quite a good case (whilst I have a law degree, I'm not a solicitor it must be noted!).
Many decent firms would give you a free consultation or at least be willing to advise on what the plan was before committing to taking any money.

Nikias · 28 Jun 2011 at 20:43

Wot he ^ said. You may be able to sue for breach of contract or a negligent misstatement inter alia. Speak with your solicitor.

Converge · 28 Jun 2011 at 20:54

Ok cheers guys... know of any decent ones?

I jest, I'll start poking around for a local one now!

Slam62 · 28 Jun 2011 at 21:03

sorry, but imo you will be wasting your time, you could try the fsa or something, but if I was you I would move on.

My advice.. which is not to be relied upon, is never ever go for shared equity and don't buy now anyway, plan for financial armagedon and you should be ok.

Slade2 · 28 Jun 2011 at 21:05

I would approach the estate agents first and basically speak to them about the issues and how much you have already paid out. Since he worked for them you would expect them to sort this kinda of mess out. If they are not prepared to help I would seek some independant advice.