settlement issues? Can anyone advice?

[woohoo]

I just sold a land, and onselling it. I had instructed the agent to write the contract as "settlement at 30 days after title released", as that is the contract condition with the developer i was buying the land from. I told himthat at least 3 times, but the agent told me that the contract is not valid if there is no exact date of settlement (which I knew is not true, but he lectured me saying he has been an agent for 20 years blablabla, that he knows how to write a valid contract), which was why he wrote "30 days after title release or 13th Jan 2006". And he gave me a verbal assurance that the buyer can settle 30 days after title release (at that time we still didnt know when the title will be released).

Now the land settles in the 28th december 2005, and the buyer's lender is finding it hard to chase that date. So he is opting for 13th Jan (which he has a right to, according to the contract). That means, the developer selling the land to me will charge me penalty interest of $55 a day for about 15 days. Can I ask the agent to pay for that?

My contract with the agent is "$4000 flat fee if sold at $140,000", and he sold it for $138,000, so he missed the mark. DOes that give me more room for negotiation for him to pay that penalty?

Now my solicitor who is representing me, told me he is also going to represent my buyer (cos the buyer can't find a solicitor, thats why he is trying to use my solicitor). I thought this was not allowed for a lawyer to represent both parties, because who is he going to stand for?

Now my solicitor is playing nice guy and talking to the buyer to come to an agreeable solution, which is, for them to settle on the 28th December, but for me to pay the buyer's interest payment for holding the land from 28th dec till1 3th dec, which comes up to about $460. And the solicitor is asking me to put that on the agent who wrote the contract.

Basically he said the agent should have written "30 days after title released, or 13th Jan 2006, WHICHEVER IS EARLIER".

What should I do?

[juzz]

Woohoo,

This is not advice but an opinion only, Please seek your own advice on this but......

Settlement are regularly a challenge, you must clearly know who your
solicitor is acting for & whether the purchaser has signed a letter of engagement for them to act for them as well as you may have a conflict
of interest.

Also, settlements over the Christmas break are difficult as many people
in the settlement process may be away dragging the settlment further...

I suspect they will argue the point of 30 days after 13 Jan, this will
give them extra time. But this may be less important than finding out
if the purchasers financier is really committed.

It may be good if your solicitor helps them settle, as you will know more
but maybe not engage their services, as there may be problems with coflict
of interest to both parties.

See if interest costs can be taken out of the purchasers settlement.

Also, what happens if they don't settle....
It may be important just to make it happen & try to rope the purchaser in more in your dealings till settlement occurs.

Think about covering your downside if they don't settle, know your worst case, then work towards your best case.....

Juzz

[markpatric]

I think you needed advise before you signed the contract.
The agent may be ignorant of the issue but you have signed a contract with him also, to late to negotiate his fees, you may have to live with this one but should the buyer seek an extension to the Jan date I would then charge him interest which he must pay, so stopping any further losses on your part.