Frustrated at property purchase

[Charltonstrek]

Im in the process of buying a leasehold flat not ideal I know but I cant afford a freehold property. We are 3 months into the process which I know isn't too long really but it is a no chain purchase and the only thing holding this up now is the sellers solicitor getting hold of the leasehold management pack its now been 3 weeks since it was requested with several chase ups from sellers estate agent and solicitor my own solicitor just keeps saying it's the estate agent and sellers solicitor responsibility to chase it. I dont understand the logic as to why they request these packs so late in the process sellers estate agent says its normal procedure.
Anybody been through this.

YANBU but it’s the English system. There is no incentive for anyone to do anything in advance because the sale can fall apart at any time.

We should have it like Scotland where all this info has to be provided up front.

Also your solicitor is right there is nothing they can do about it, the seller is waiting on the freeholder.

It takes the time it takes unfortunately. When we bought out leasehold flat we had our offer accepted at the end of September and we completed in late February and there was not chain on either side (we were in rented and out vendor was moving in with her partner).

Same here vendor has moved out we are in rental

Search the news today about leasehold ... new laws are coming in next few years which will improve things!

Going through this right now, took over 2 months to get the management pack, my solicitor then sent further queries about it, and we're on week 3 of waiting for answers. The estate agent is completely useless too. I feel your pain!

I don’t know if it’s still the case but my husband sold his flat in 2022 and we had to pay for the pack. The solicitor said to wait until a certain point in the process so we knew the buyer was serious before we paid the fee which was hundreds for basically a few sheets of paper).

I just thought that solicitors did a fixed fee payable on completion which would include leasehold pack cost

The pack isn’t prepared by the solicitor, it’s prepared by the building management company or freeholder. They charge an admin fee which, at least for us, had to be paid upfront. The companies are generally pretty slow, to the point that some charge significantly more for a quicker service

Even if some solicitors add the cost on top of their fees, you pay for all the fees on completion or if the sale falls through so sellers try to avoid incurring extra costs early in the process in case their buyer pulls out.

Oh yes I know its prepared by the building managent and nobody wants to waste money but what about if the buyer wastes money on searches etc then get management pack and boom its got too many clauses to proceed.

Also the freeholder isn't a private company its the local council not sure if that speeds it up or slows it down it suggests 10. working days to get leasehold pack on freeholders website

Councils are usually slower unfortunately. Also depends if the seller paid for an expedited pack, the council should have provided the turnaround times but 3 weeks is a pretty standard time, however, the sellers solicitor should have requested this at the start of the process. You just need to keep piling on the pressure to get the transaction through.

I questioned my solicitor about this got no response his attitude comes across a little dismissive however the sellers estate agent told me sellers solicitor wont request leasehold pack until theyve recieved the client care letter whatever that means

The client care letter goes out at the outset- nothing is done until that is signed by the sellers so if you’re 3 months in, the client care letter is unlikely to be the hold up.
When I was working in conveyancing- only a few years ago - the management pack would usually be ordered quite early on, within the first few weeks. However it could have been delayed for various reasons - the seller being slow to provide payment, or waiting for you to have a survey done, or simply because someone forgot!

its in the hands of the managing agents and they can be very slow. The lack can be very lengthy and dinero d has to compile it - it’s not just sitting there waiting fur a request to come in. And yes it costs the seller - I think I paid something like £125 to get one done, but I’ve heard if them costing more than £250. So don’t blame the seller or their solicitor- they may be desperate for it too!

God typos! ‘The pack can be very lengthy and someone has to compile it’

When we sold our leasehold flat our conveyancer requested the management pack immediately after we accepted the offer. It took over 2 months for it to be issued by the freeholder (local council). Once it’s back I’d expect there to be 2-4 weeks back and forth questions between the conveyancers depending on how on the ball they are.

The client care letter is the letter which a client signs to formally instruct their conveyancer (and agree to pay for their services). Based on that I’d say your problem is the buyer, and I’d be questioning the estate agent about why they held off instructing a conveyancer for 2 months.

Be very savvy re leasehold flats. Read the news and massive campaigns on all the issues

Do you think thats the case blimey

Ambertiger I think you are correct my own solicitor said management pack should have been requested at the outset.
Offer was accepted 26th October no chain either side and for some reason they didnt request management pack until 29th January 2026.