Unbelievable.

[debaura12]

Hi

Can you believe this.

I had my offer accepted on a flat on 1/08. The vendor sold the property with the leases having been written (she was the freeholder of the whole block).
Can you believe it is now 17 weeks later and the leases still have not been written!!! In this time I have been paying £525 pm rent.

What would you do, I am out of my mind.

[atticusclaw2]

I don't understand what you're saying

[debaura12]

Sorry I meant WITHOUT the lease having been written!!!

[CotswoldStrife]

Do you mean the tenancy agreement?

[atticusclaw2]

contact the letting agent

[debaura12]

No the lease, as in when you buy a property.

[ElfOnMyShelf]

Presumably what the OP means is the property she is purchasing is leasehold not freehold.
The vendor is the freeholder for the entire block, but hasn't written up the lease agreements so the purchase cannot continue?


Do you want to get involved with her? Id start looking at other flats to be honest, imagine if you were selling your flat and you needed her to extend the lease? She would be an utter pain in the arse.

[QforCucumber]

I assume it's a leasehold property rather than freehold. If you buy freehold there are no leases which is why people are confused.
How long is the leasehold you've purchased? Have you spoken to your solicitor for an idea on timescale? Is your mortgage offer still in place?

[debaura12]

Yes ElfOnMyShelf, you are correct. Thank you!
She is selling on the freehold on after she has sold all the flats in the building. Which should all go through at the same time, as they are all sold.
All that wasted money in rent, survey, solicitors, my budget for a new place will be far less.

[CotswoldStrife]

Ah, sorry I've never dealt with leasehold property so I'll bow out and leave it to the experts! Hope you get it sorted soon, must be very frustrating for you to still be paying rent somewhere else.

[debaura12]

Thank you CotswoldStrife, yes I am verging on a well I don't want to say break down but my nerves are shot.

[GinIsIn]

So you are awaiting a leasehold agreement from the freeholder to complete your sale, is that what you are saying?

[debaura12]

Isn't it terrible form to sell a property without the lease? The EA said he had no idea, and I half believe him.

[debaura12]

Yes FenellaMaxwell

[CotswoldStrife]

As I understand it, the property would (usually) be advertised for sale as being leasehold with x number of years left. If the freeholder is selling all the flats at the same time they may extend the leases so they all finish at the same point in time. Did they say how long the current lease is for when you looked at the flat?

[debaura12]

I was told the leases were sent to my solicitor early this month but they have not been, and the vendor's solicitor says that they are still on her desk, someone has been on holiday apparently. If I had as many holidays as the vendors solicitor I would move abroad permanently!!

[debaura12]

CotswoldStrife yes the property was advertised with a new 125 year lease, unfortunately these had not been written.

[atticusclaw2]

Do you mean that you are renting whilst you wait to buy the leasehold? Or do you mean that you are buying the freehold and renting in the meantime.

There are various options

1 you rent a flat and have a tenancy agreement. You don't own anything

1. You purchase a leasehold property - its like owning the flat and you can sell it on but you never actually own the building
   
2. you own the freehold - i.e. the whole building
   

Anyway either way there is only one piece of advice (since its too tricky to answer this on an internet forum). You need to speak to your solicitor.

[debaura12]

I was desperate for a quick sale, as I say I am renting. I asked the EA at point of sale if there was any reason the sale would not go through quickly ( I had previously lost out on a flat that failed to complete)

[SantasLittleMonkeyButler]

Are you buying the flat you already live in? Or is the £525 per month your rent on the place you live in whilst waiting for the purchase to go through?

Are your solicitors putting pressure on the Vendor to get things sorted out?

[debaura12]

SantasLittleMonkeyButler the £525 is rent I am paying while I am waiting fo the purchase to go through. Yes my solicitors are very good.

[GinIsIn]

I think it's time to issue an ultimatum in that case - say that you will want to exchange by 10th December or you are withdrawing your offer.

[atticusclaw2]

But are you:

1. renting the flat youre going to be purchasing - not straightforward situation
   

or

1. renting somewhere completely different - very straightforward and not particularly unusual situation. Its just delay and all you do is tell your solicitor to communicate that if the purchase doesn't go through in x weeks then you're walking away.

[debaura12]

Would you not want think that dropping the offer by £500 a month would work? I don't want to walk away, it's so expensive.
I do not think the leases will be ready before January.

[wowfudge]

You're not losing money though, however frustrating this all is, you are paying for somewhere to live. I appreciate your rent is going to your landlord rather than towards your own mortgage, but it's rather dramatic to say it's wasted money.

[NoSquirrels]

But your living costs (rent) are just your problem, same as anyone buying - it's an annoying delay, sure, but 17 weeks is not too unusual for the completion of a property sale.