Deed Of Variation/Rectification Timescale?

dpr666

Hi All,

I am coming towards the end of the purchase of my first flat. Everything was going really well and I was starting to question why people say it is so stressful. Until this morning that is!!

The developer's solicitor was reviewing the lease plans and noticed that the drawing was showing the wrong flat. It was drawn as a 2 bed flat whereas I am purchasing a much more modest 1 bed. Apparently the developer's solicitor is now drawing up a "Deed of Variation/Rectification" that is then sent to the Land Registry to fix the faults.

The thing that worried me is that my solicitor said this:

"I am waiting to hear from the sellers solicitors as to the current position and how long this will take as it may affect your decision as to whether or not you want to still proceed."

:eek: Will it really be that long? To drop out now would mean losing a lot of money that I have already spent on valuations, fees, property searches etc..

Has anyone had any experience of this procedure? Is it fairly painless, or am I looking at having to stay put for months and months ?

Many thanks in advance!

hazyjo

We had a similar problem when buying our house. The previous owners bought it from new, and the (2 separate) garages were never assigned to the house. An indemnity policy wasn't allowed, so the vendors had to sort out a deed of rectification ("DoR") (or whatever it turned out to be).

It was no worse than a few weeks, or month or so in the end for the actual DoR - but all the faffing around beforehand added to the timescale. They should have just gone down the DoR route originally. There were letters back and forwards to solicitors, the developer, us... was a nightmare. Cost them over a grand to sort out so make sure the vendor is definitely paying! Our purchase took 5 months instead of the 3 weeks my buyer (an investor) had first demanded.

We'd tried to get an answer out of our solicitor as to how long it would take, but she couldn't answer. I too was under the impression from her that it would take months and months. Once the indemnity policy route had been refused, and they'd tried everything else to not have to get the DoR, they finally committed to get the DoR. It was first mentioned in the January I think, and we completed on 31 March.

The DoR has to be as prepared as a draft first which adds to the faffing. It tends to be backwards and forwards for a while - and you know how it is when everything's done by post! We'd beg for emails, but still stuff would be sent by snail mail. Some has to be, but there was a lot of timewasting.

Good luck! You're not restricted cos of stamp duty deadlines or anything, are you?

Jx

dpr666

hazyjo wrote: »

Good luck! You're not restricted cos of stamp duty deadlines or anything, are you?

Jx

Hi J,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience of the DoR!

I am very grateful that in my situation I have a lot of aspects that will make the DoR faster and more bearable; I am moving into a new build flat, I am dealing directly with the developer, I am living with parents so have no real time limit, I have only just had my mortgage offer accepted (therefore still have 6 months reservation), and because of the property price I won't have to pay for stamp duty either.

I suppose I am just very disappointed. Before this morning I was expecting to be in by the 22nd of this month, now it's looking at being a month two longer. I suppose I just have to be patient, I am sure that the developers will want to be as fast as possible to get the sale completed so they can fill an empty flat.

Thanks again!

propertyman

Quite simply its a 2 page document plus a plan and back and forth 10 days if the solicitors are working at a reasonable pace, and there is no need for your lender to do any furhter approvals.

BUT

If if its the wrong plan and description do check the lease front to back for any other reference and in particular that the service charge percentage is for a 1 bed not a 2 bed!

dpr666

propertyman wrote: »

If if its the wrong plan and description do check the lease front to back for any other reference and in particular that the service charge percentage is for a 1 bed not a 2 bed!

Thanks Propertyman,

I hadn't even thought about the service charge! I have just been relying on my solicitor to check these things for me. I will definitely be reading it from front to back myself when I receive the amended deeds!

Its great to hear that the DoR could go through in as little as 2 weeks. I am so close to moving in that backing our now would be devastating financially and emotionally!

I suppose that patience is my best option. I will wait to be given a rough timescale for completion and try not to get too impatient.

Thanks again!

propertyman

Most welcome

If you are new to flats this guide will help.

http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/documents/document.asp?item=7

dpr666

propertyman wrote: »

Most welcome

If you are new to flats this guide will help.

http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/documents/document.asp?item=7

Thanks a lot!

I'll definitely have a read through that!

Richard_Webster

Also it will take longer if the developer has to contact other flt owners to get their leases changed because they are also wrong. It they are interrelated it is how long the slowest one takes - and existing lessees will have mortgages so their lender will also have to be consulted.

A key point therefore is establishing whether the alteration can be made to this flat without affecting any others. If it can't then it will take longer.

propertyman

Its a great point; I was hoping that it was isolated to this flat, trust a solicitor to sniff out more fees

elliott1983

Hi all, what was the outcome with this ? As I am going through the exact same thing right now. It's taken from January to date just get that a DoR is needed. My solicitor has just sent to vendor's solicitor what is needed to rectify the deeds. Does it take much longer from this point ?:wall: