The solicitor says the lease in the flat we’re buying is defective because of unspecified service charge?
Me and my wife are at the final stages of buying our first flat. All went smoothly until our solicitor found a defect in the lease. The freeholders are Richmond council who claim the lease is not defective and is backed by legislation. Our solicitor claims its definitely not so. The defect means that at any time Richmond council (or the free holder at the time) can charge us service charges for work done on other buildings in the estate which do not relate to us. As well indemnity insurance is not possible as no insurer will insure an unspecified service charge as such. The solicitor says other flats sold in that block must be because their solicitors did not read the lease properly and that our lender won’t lend us the money for such a property with defective title.
This flat was perfect for us and took us a very long time to find. Should we back off if no solution is found, or try to find a way to proceed regardless?
We’re very desperate at this stage. Any advice appreciated.
I must add that everyone agrees it is unlikely that the council will do such a thing as charge service charges for work done elsewhere, but it makes the flat unsellable according to our solicitor.
Quick House Sale
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September 8th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Looks like you will have to find somewhere else.
September 11th, 2009 at 5:53 am
I’d be wary of this one; you need some boundaries on this if nothing else.
I’d bail unless there was a resolution. You need to leave the emotion to one side on this one, because it could really come back to bite you. Even if this means renting another property in the mean time.
September 14th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Listen to your solicitor. You pay them to find this type of thing out for you, its theri profession.
It may be frustrating, but don;t ignore theri advice as you could get seriously stung.
September 17th, 2009 at 12:34 am
Listen to your solicitor - you need to weigh up a little disappointment now with years and years of being hit with huge maintenance bills for other peoples flats!!
Edit: It is not unlikely that the Council will charge you for work carried out on the estate. If they can, they will, especially now it has been pointed out to them, and they are claiming that it is backed by legislation!! Not a risk I would be prepared to take. Service charges can be hard enough anyway without adding other buildings into the equation!!
September 17th, 2009 at 3:23 am
I know what your going through! I’ve just bought my first flat and had similar problems - it took me 4/5 months in total from having my offer accepted to moving in, but you’ll get there
My ground rent / service charges on the lease did not match the deeds so my solicitor refused to exchange until the wording matched on both. Same thing, other flats had sold without this problem so this is what i did…
Firstly i checked with my mortgage company that, as it stood, they were still lending me the money and just waiting for my solicitors phone call to release the funds.
Next i had a contract drawn up to say that if my solicitor went ahead and exchanged / completed the deal, he or she was in no part responsible for anything that happens after this date. Both sign it. That takes any blame away from your solicitor.
If your freeholders are saying that the lease is not defective maybe ask the solicitor to draw up another contract for the freeholders to sign with words to that effect?
This way everyone should be happy. Dont under any circumstances wait for the solicitor to do everything though. I done most of my running around, phone calls and letters. If your willing to take the risk so to speak then go for it
Hope this helps and good luck
September 19th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
This sounds like overseas, but here in the states those issues are usually addressed through the severability clause of the agreements, in where a certain disputed clause can be severed from the agreement and the remainder of the agreement continues to be enforceable. Ask your solicitor if that applies in your country.