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Live/Work Unit: Condition in Lease

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  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596
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    thenpaking wrote: »
    my broker has looked at the documentation from the lender, and he reckons they are fine with Live/Work units.
    How can I know that my solicitor is not blowing this up out of all proportion?
    I don't know - what does the documentation from the lender say about it?
  • The mortgage documentation says: "Some part commercial properties can be accepted on normal residential terms (subject to a satisfactory valuation)" and these include Live/Work units and properties with "One room used as an office/consulting room". They don't define Live/Work though. The valuation has been approved. The offer hasn't been issued yet: there was some delay because of unrelated problems with my documentation.
    And no, I wouldn't say the price was cheaper than non-Live/Work units in the area. The seller is thinking of it as a luxury flat in an area where there aren't so many of those.
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596
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    Was the valuation on the basis of live-work planning? And if so, has the lender been asked whether they'd accept it?
  • I've just checked with my broker, and no the valuation wasn't made on that basis, and the lender hasn't specifically been asked yet, we've just consulted the documentation.
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596
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    thenpaking wrote: »
    I've just checked with my broker, and no the valuation wasn't made on that basis, and the lender hasn't specifically been asked yet, we've just consulted the documentation.
    Ok, so either you continue on the basis that the seller's got to get the planning consent fixed, or you ask your lender if they'll lend on the basis that the live-work planning remains (and they'll then have to get a new valuation on that basis).
  • OK. That's good to know. I am exploring the possibility that the seller fixes the planning consent. My worry is that because of the time that would involve she might abandon the sale. If I got the lender to revalue this, I wouldn't need to have the lease altered either right?
  • System
    System Posts: 178,076
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    tbh if I was selling a live/work unit and someone told me i had to get planning permission to change it to purely residential I would question why a buyer was even looking at my property in the first place, insisting on a change of use application at the expense of the seller will most likely lead to the sale falling through
  • Hoploz
    Hoploz Posts: 3,888 Forumite
    It isn't exactly clear but I assume you are planning to use this flat purely as residential. If the sell has 50 flats to sell then he is going to have to get this sorted in order to get them all sold, surely
  • the_r_sole: the point was, I didn't know it was a live/work until until my solicitor brought this to my attention. My concern is that the vendor might feel like you and cancel the sale (which I don't want). What I am trying to understand is how to navigate through this, and sensibly assess the risk I am in.
    Hoploz: the development was done in quite some time ago when live/work was the funky new thing (or something), so it's not an issue for the landlord.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189
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    thenpaking wrote: »
    the point was, I didn't know it was a live/work until until my solicitor brought this to my attention.
    At which point, you could and should have walked away from it, since it's clearly not suitable for your requirements. Continuing to follow through on the purchase is throwing good money after dead, in the hope that the council have changed their mind on what they thought were good reasons at the time they put the planning conditions in place.
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