Dodgy maintaince fund and not told of natural spring under house

desperateflatowner

Please could anyone give me any advice on the following? Sorry that this is long but there are three main problems. The last the one concerns me most

I brought a flat in Nov 07.

1 All flat owners have a share of the freehold but there was no management company. When buying I was promised that all owners were in agreement that one should be set up. However once I had brought, one owner refused. Same owner that has sole control of the maintaince fund.

2 There is a maintain fund, which I was told that my seller and two other flat owners were signatories for. I asked to replace my seller as signatory. It was refused. I was told that they did not know me and another owner would be replacing my seller.
However in Feb of this year found out that only one owner's name was on the bank account and that he had appointed his newly wed wife as a second signatory. She is not on the land registry as an owner. Adding her name was done without gaining consent from/ or informing, either myself or the other owners.

One owner rents their flat out and after a year and a half, I still have no contact details.
Another is very elderly and does not seem able to understand basic info.
There are also a couple that own two flats which they are in the process of selling. They say do not want any trouble and are happy to leave things as they stand.

3. I had asked several times over the past 18 mths, what the large boxes were outside the basement flat, I was always told it was something to do with the elderly owners hobby, but that they weren’t sure what.

Yesterday I was told large boxes housed the pumps for the natural spring that exists under the house.


Also as I had been asked to take over the arrangements for the building insurance. It is presently handled by the couple, which are selling their two flats. When I asked if the spring was declared on the insurance the answer was no. My seller originally arranged the insurance and had thought it best not to say anything and this situation has continued. I pointed out that the buildings insurance would probably be invalid.

Should my seller have informed me of this and should it have shown up in the searches, as I would never have brought the property if I had known.

I am really worried as I have little money for legal action. Should it be need.

Please can anyone give me any advise.

Ulfar

Did you have a full survey done, if you did then your surveyor is liable.

Its buyer beware apart from that, unless you specifically asked the seller about a spring under the house.

To be even further the voice of doom and gloom, not only is the insurance invalid but you may need to tell your mortgage company.

As for the money for the maintain fund, I would not be paying any more money towards until there are at least two signatories from different households.

desperateflatowner

Hi Ulfar

I did have a survey done. No mention of spring or pump.

However although you can see the boxes from my flat, the survey did not cover the other flats.

I am stunned that the seller is not legally responsible for not declaring the spring prior to sale.

On the buildings maintaince as I paid a year in advance in Feb I am stuffed.. However as everybody else knew about the spring and that it was not declared on the insurance surely they have breached a duty of care or something.

wysiwyg78

If I were you I would get some legal advice. I work for a large firm of solicitors and sit next to the partner who deals with property related litigation. He regularly gives basic advice on the phone to prespective clients, so if you ring around you may get somebody willing to tell you if it is worth pursuing.

Failing that the CAB offer regular legal advice clinics so give them a try.

I do think it is something that you will need to pursue legally.

desperateflatowner

Thank you for replying wysiwyg78

There was no mention of the spring in the sellers property information form.

I agree that I need legal advice but little cash to pay for it.

I also wondered if it would be legal to record a conversation with the other flat owners. As I doubt if they knew I was taking legal action that they would confirm again that my seller knew about the spring

pawpurrs

It doesn matter a jot if the seller knew about the spring or not, its buyer beware, so unless you asked Is there a spring under the house, she wouldnt have to mention it!
I am afraid I cant see that you have any complaint to uphold here.
Just like they wouldnt have to mention if the roof was abou to fall down, thats up to YOU to find out.

BitterAndTwisted

Personally, I see the spring under the building as the least of your problems: as long as the pump is working everything should be fine. Friends of mine in the US have the same arrangement as do practically every other household in the town.

The issue of control of the maintenance fund is much more troubling imo.

Seek legal advice even if you have to charge it your credit-card but contact a solicitor by phone and speak to the CAB in the first instance

Ulfar

A full structural survey should have included the fabric of the building as well as the flat.

They should have picked up a spring under the property especially if there was already a pump in use.

The problem is most people go for a home buyers report which is not worth the paper it is written on as it will miss lots of things.

desperateflatowner

I did have a full structural survey done. Or at least the best you can get when buying a flat. As you cannot get a full survey as you do nopt get access to the other five flats.

I have taken legal advice but it does not seem that there is much hope.
I really do not think that I was negligent in not thinking to ask if there was a spring under the house. How many buyers would think of asking? However I would in the future.
I have been told that the water searches carried out would not pick up on the spring.
I am stunned that there is not a responsibility of dilegence on behalf of the seller. To hide such information and by doing so prevent the buyer from making an informed decision concerning the property and its true value. I really feel that with holding such info is an unacceptable practice. That there apears to be no recourse for not declaring a spring is really bad.
Business are prevented form such practices. The office of fair tradeing covers this via consumer protection law. So how come private individuals can get away with it.

I am left in a terrible situation. No buildings insurance. Hike in charges once the spring is included. 12k in the maintaince fund, solely controlled by a couple, one of whom is not even on the land registry. No access to accounts and a property that is devalued.

I suppose I could not raise any concerns and try top sell it on to the next poor sod but really do not have the same killer instinct as my previous seller.

Any other advice or suggestions, as I said I am at my wits end.

desperateflatowner

Please has anyone else got any views.
I have taken legal advice and it seems its catch 22. I am stuffed. Only real option is to keep quite and try to sell it ohn myself. Which I really do not think I could do to someone else.

princeofpounds

You are much more likely to be able to do something about the maintenance fund than the spring.

Learn about freehold management at lease-advice.org. This might give you some idea of your rights and avenues to go down.

Go and ask on landlordzone forums about the situation; some specialist solicitors post there and might be able to give you specific advice.

If the person you spoke to was a generalist solicitor you might want to get a second opinion from one who is experienced in these matters. One thing I have found is that general solicitors often don't have the best grip of, well, law.

It's tough, but the buyers are not obliged to tell you about things like springs. Your only choice is to go after the surveyor, and that is a specialist situation.