Advice needed - house advertised as freehold becomes leasehold just before exchange!

antrobus

teresa1981 wrote: »

Is there any way I can seek to recoup any of these costs from either the vendors, or their solicitors?

Yes. You get your solicitor to write to their solicitor and mention the word 'misrepresentation'. Your solicitor would be best placed to advise you on your chances of recouping your costs to date.

maria777 wrote: »

Have you checked if you can buy the freehold - we bought ours a few years ago - it cost about £200

I think it might cost a but more than £200 to buy out the freehold of a property on a 99 year lease with 27 years to run. I suspect that your £200 was the cost of buying out a ground rent.


I must admit, I can't imagine that anyone would be stupid enough to deliberately lie about their property being freehold when it wasn't .... 1938 is a long time ago. I wonder if a 'Mr Jones' bought the property, died in 1976, left it to his wife, who was looked after in her old age by her dearly beloved daughter who inherited the property following her mother's death in 1996, and is now herself finding it difficult to look after the house in her old age, and wants to sell up and mpve somewhere else. As far as the daughter is concerned, the house is just the family home she inherited from her parents. If no one every took the time to sit her down and explain to her that is was in fact leasehold, she may well have just assumed that she owned the property on the same basis that people generally own property. It therefore may have all been just as much a shock to the present owner, as it was to the prospective purchaser.

But then that is just pure unadulterated 100% speculation.

DVardysShadow

Lokolo wrote: »

Surely you can't be serious?

It was obviously a joke, shirley?

DVardysShadow

antrobus wrote: »

... I must admit, I can't imagine that anyone would be stupid enough to deliberately lie about their property being freehold when it wasn't .... 1938 is a long time ago. I wonder if a 'Mr Jones' bought the property, died in 1976, left it to his wife, who was looked after in her old age by her dearly beloved daughter who inherited the property following her mother's death in 1996, and is now herself finding it difficult to look after the house in her old age, and wants to sell up and mpve somewhere else. As far as the daughter is concerned, the house is just the family home she inherited from her parents. If no one every took the time to sit her down and explain to her that is was in fact leasehold, she may well have just assumed that she owned the property on the same basis that people generally own property. It therefore may have all been just as much a shock to the present owner, as it was to the prospective purchaser.

But then that is just pure unadulterated 100% speculation.

A good explanation of what happened.

However, the seller engaged the solicitor to represent them. The solicitor has not pulled the deeds and has sent off the contract for a freehold purchase in good faith, but I would argue, negligently.

So, I still think that the vendor is liable for OP's costs to this point and solicitor is liable to vendor.

olly300

antrobus wrote: »

I must admit, I can't imagine that anyone would be stupid enough to deliberately lie about their property being freehold when it wasn't

It may not be deliberate but a mis-understanding by the vendor.

Lots of people don't understand the freehold and leasehold system in England.

So there are probably documents in the house about paying ground rent which are stacked/filed somewhere. However if the ground rent hasn't been collected for years then if you are selling a house and know nothing it's easy to presume because it's a house it's freehold.

FireWyrm

DVardysShadow wrote: »

It was obviously a joke, shirley?

Oh dear! Airplane anyone? Police squad? Oh I feel old....:eek:

kmmr

FireWyrm wrote: »

Oh dear! Airplane anyone? Police squad? Oh I feel old....:eek:

Don't worry. I got it! But, yes, we are old. :beer:

Lokolo

FireWyrm wrote: »

Oh dear! Airplane anyone? Police squad? Oh I feel old....:eek:

You aren't, don't worry, I am 22 and I know all the lines from both films those and Naked Gun.