Executors selling residential property included within an estate will be guaranteed the full sale price if the buyer pulls out after contracts have been exchanged, in a new service which aims to mitigate the risks associated with the transactions.
ClozeSure will guarantee executors 100% of the agreed sale price if the buyer fails to complete after exchange, stepping in as the new buyer and paying 90% of the agreed sale price. The remaining 10% deposit will be forfeited by the original buyer and retained by the seller.
The company has been co-founded by Peter Thompson (pictured), founding principal partner of St James’s Place Wealth Management, and Phil Beville, previously of St James’s Place Wealth Management, Credit Suisse First Boston and Microsoft. The founders are supported by a team specialising in finance, property and technology and the venture is backed by Rightmove, lender TogetherMoney, Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB) and peer-to-peer lending platform easyMoney.
Both buyer and seller must be using the services of a registered conveyancer or licensed solicitor to qualify for the service, and sellers will agree to pay a small fee, typically a few hundred pounds, to be paid on completion if the sale proceeds as planned.
Thompson explained:
“Probate sales carry a unique emotional and financial weight. Families want certainty, not another layer of stress. We can step in at the exact moment a buyer fails to complete and remove that uncertainty entirely. It means executors can settle estates more efficiently, beneficiaries aren’t left wondering, and the whole process becomes far more dignified.”
ClozeSure is applied for after an offer has been accepted and the buyer’s conveyancer has concluded due diligence. When both parties are ready to exchange contracts, the seller, their conveyancer or estate agent apply to ClozeSure, which validates the sale price and issues a guaranteed offer.
Once contracts have been exchanged, the offer becomes legally binding and the seller is guaranteed the full sale price of the property. By day 10, if the buyer has failed to meet the deadline in their Notice to Complete, ClozeSure completes the purchase of the property.
The company says it is addressing a long-standing gap in the market by providing a layer of protection for sellers, particularly those involved in chains or probate sales, while simultaneously enhancing the service proposition of agents and conveyancers.
Earlier this month, Thompson spoke to Today’s Media to explain the personal inspiration behind ClozeSure. Read his interview in Today’s Conveyancer.
