We've just found out.....

Whits

..... that the house we are buying is a leasehold and not a freehold as advertised:mad:

What exactly does this mean

I know what the differences are but to me, as the buyer, what changes apart from the fact that I'm going to have to pay £20 a year to someone I've never met:mad:

I'm really annoyed about it but the estate agents don't really seem interested, what do I do?

I'm not after compensation and I'm certainly not going to pull out, I just wanted to know if this will hold up the buying process as my OH and I kept saying that it was all going to smoothly:rolleyes:

TIA

lynzpower

the EAs should be interested, as theyve misrepresented the property I would have thought and this is in breach of the law???

Doozergirl

I was going to say you can threaten to sue under the Property Misdescriptions Act. My SIL had buyers who got £1000 off the estate agent because they got the number of plug sockets wrong. That's way over the top, of course, but for something this important

I suggest they reduce their fee to the vendor and pass this saving on to you in the form of a price reduction on the property.

http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file25449.pdf

Number 17 in the list at the bottom refers to tenure. That means whether it is freehold or leasehold.

richgirl

lynzpower wrote:

the EAs should be interested, as theyve misrepresented the property I would have thought and this is in breach of the law???

Don't they have some clause which says they are not liable for accuracy ? and its up to the buyer to do a survey ?

Doozergirl

richgirl wrote:

Don't they have some clause which says they are not liable for accuracy ? and its up to the buyer to do a survey ?

I don't think disclaimers negate an EAs liability. I'm sure they would still have to prove due diligence.

Mrs_pbradley936

richgirl wrote:

Don't they have some clause which says they are not liable for accuracy ? and its up to the buyer to do a survey ?

Yes the Estate Agents blurb does not form part of the contract. It is to introduce you to the place they will not mislead you on purpose but sometimes mistakes can happen. Your solicitor will then draw up the contract which is the only legally binding part.

Mrs_pbradley936

Doozergirl wrote:

I was going to say you can threaten to sue under the Property Misdescriptions Act. My SIL had buyers who got £1000 off the estate agent because they got the number of plug sockets wrong.

I am a bit confused here because the buyer does not usually pay the Estate Agent. In the normal course of events the seller pays.

Doozergirl

pbradley936 wrote:

I am a bit confused here because the buyer does not usually pay the Estate Agent. In the normal course of events the seller pays.

I'm well aware of who pays the estate agent. The buyer got a cheque from the agent post-completion after they complained that the sales particulars were, in fact, incorrect.

pbradley936 wrote:

Your solicitor will then draw up the contract which is the only legally binding part.

The Estate Agent is legally bound, under the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991, not to mislead buyers. It has nothing to do with the contract of sale. Saying a property is Freehold when it is Leasehold, is misleading, IMO.

matto

Next thing to find out is how long is left on the lease.

Whits

matto wrote:

Next thing to find out is how long is left on the lease.

963 years.

It's not the fact that they've misled me, I just don't like the idea of having to ask for permission to do anything that I want.

Am I right in thinking that if I wanted to change the exterior of the house, i.e. new windows, that's ok but if I wanted to lay decking in the garden then I'd have to get permission

Mrs_pbradley936

You would have to read it to see what it says but basically they put those clauses in to safeguard the flats/houses as a whole. For instance if someone wanted to paint their windows shocking pink when everyone else had white.