Fed up with vendors.....

LouiseK_2

A bit of a rant.....The lease on the flat (which will also be share of freehold) we are buying has 69 years to run. We asked to vendors to extend the lease. They have just come back and said no.

We also queried whether the cooker would be staying (it's bigger than the average cooker so if removed it wouldn't be easy to replace). When we looked round, the vendor said it was but then it wasn't included in the fixture and fittings list. The vendors have now come back (after we queried this immediately at the start of the process 2 months ago) and said no since the cooker costs £1800 and they can't afford to buy a new one for their new house. Like we can?

We are FTBs and we feel they are not playing ball and are being greedy (We are already paying the full asking price). It seems a bit stupid over a cooker (but with the lease, this tops it off) but we are seriously considering pulling out. Should we try to re-negotiation the price?

silvercar

only you can decide if you want to spend the money on the unextended lease and no cooker. If not, walk away or reduce your offer.

Leases can be expensive to extend, so investigate the cost of this thoroughly.

Innys

I assume you haven't paid for the survey yet. If you haven't, you have no financial interest in the sale going through.

Bear in mind some lenders have a minimum term for leases on which they are prepared to lend. It may be an idea to get it checked out for your lender.

At the very least I would try to get the purchase price reduced by the cost of the cooker. If the vendor isn't happy with that, start looking for something else.

Also, make sure the EA knows you are looking elsewhere. As with many things in life, buying property is often a game of brinkmanship!

mr.broderick

Dont lose a house over a cooker you can get one on ebay for a couple of hundered quid, just think about what you are thinking of doing.

Dan29

LouiseK wrote:

A bit of a rant.....The lease on the flat (which will also be share of freehold) we are buying has 69 years to run. We asked to vendors to extend the lease. They have just come back and said no.

We also queried whether the cooker would be staying (it's bigger than the average cooker so if removed it wouldn't be easy to replace). When we looked round, the vendor said it was but then it wasn't included in the fixture and fittings list. The vendors have now come back (after we queried this immediately at the start of the process 2 months ago) and said no since the cooker costs £1800 and they can't afford to buy a new one for their new house. Like we can?

We are FTBs and we feel they are not playing ball and are being greedy (We are already paying the full asking price). It seems a bit stupid over a cooker (but with the lease, this tops it off) but we are seriously considering pulling out. Should we try to re-negotiation the price?

If I were you I'd want the agreed price reduced by the cost of the lease extension and the cooker - unless you're convinced this property is a bargain, or it's rare in some way.

The fact that they told you the cooker would be included but have now changed their mind doesn't make them sound like very reliable vendors.

The lease is more complicated as it may not be possible for them to extend in the time conveyancing would normally take. However it could be hugely expensive for you to do if you buy the flat without it being extended - possibly a five-figure sum - and I believe you have no legal right to extend until you've owned the property for two years, although negotiations with the landlord can happen before that point. Has the vendor approached the freeholder, or had an independent valuation done of how much it might cost to extend?

LouiseK_2

An update on progress...we have decided to reduce our office by £2000 to cover the cost of the cooker, installation, etc. and we are currently waiting for a quote from our solicitor regarding cost of extedning the lease which we will also knock off our offer price.

It's all a bit stressful really - the upper link of the chain (not our vendor and there's only 3 of us) has now said they will pull out if exchange doesn't happen by 31 October. We are being hassled by everyone to hurry up (we're FTBs with nothing to sell) and we are annoyed becaue we've been waiting for the freehold document and the answer to the cooker for over 2 months (only arrived end of last week). We're more than happy for things to progress quickly but when there are issues outstanding, we don't want to simply sign the contract.

richgirl

Yes knock off the cooker and the lease, as FTB, you arew holding Pocket Aces ! Use them ! They are bluffing, and you can always go and find somewhere else !

irnbru_2

LouiseK wrote:

the upper link of the chain (not our vendor and there's only 3 of us) has now said they will pull out if exchange doesn't happen by 31 October.

Then your vendor's got some discounting to do if they want to exchange by then.

LouiseK_2

It gets weirder still....

Via my solicitor today, we have now been told that the vendors are very attached to their cooker. However, the place they are moving to has a range cooker which they will swap over. I don't want to be unreasonable but this all sounds a bit odd to me. It makes me think what is wrong with the cooker in the house that they are buying????

Another thing is that they want to exchange and complete by the end of next week!!! EEK.

Oddgy

Listen - if the sale of my house was dependant on the cooker, i know what id do. Leave the soddin thing. What is up with the world today. Makes me so angry.

lynzpower

hang on a minute

You have reduced your offer 2k for a cooker.

Dont you think thats a bit unrealistic? As Mr broderick says you can get them for a few hundred quid, how big the space measured for it?

I know my mates buying a range cooker and its 800 quid, and she certainly isnt MSE enough to shop around or get quidco cashback etc.

When I had my electric oven fitted by a company again no shopping around cost 65 quid, central london prices.

I think if i was the vendor Id tell you to take a hike.

Its pretty clear they want to take the oven and thats thier prerogative to keep hold of thier own belongings. Why are you pressuring them to give up thier belongings for your convenience?

I know how difficult it is to be A FTB but the fact it was left off the F&F list shows clearly id have thought they want to take it and why shouldnt they