Should you insist on meeting the other freeholder before signing?

pph

Hi, FTB and had a panicked thought. It's 50/50 free hold and we have had the offer accepted. I haven't met the other freeholder.. I reckon I should to make sure he / she / they aren't a liability?! I mean, they could be nuts and have 50% of the building rights! :eek:

societys_child

But, how will you go about insisting that he/she/they meet you? Even your vendor can't make he/she/they do this.

The_J

I presume they won't be your neighbour? Meeting them is probably a bit too much, find out where they live and their email address. It's good to get in contact beforehand and say something like "Hi, I'm going to be the new freeholder, this is my email address if you have any questions." Where they live is important for access issues. If they live in the property and are not a landlord then meeting them will probably happen regardless.

If they reply to your email with "hello pph, will you be mah wife?" then report back. I will advise further.

pph

LOL!

Seriously though, I don't know if he / she / they will be a neighbour. Could be a nutter.. I think I will ask... if I meet them and they are creepy as hell and own 50% of the freehold it might well make me think again.

(BTW, sorry mods this is in the wrong forum, didn't see the house-buying one in my sudden panic/paranoia).

The_J

It is a good point, they could be a pain in the !!! to deal with which, if you need stuff done on the property which is inside the remit of the management company (i.e locks changing, roof being looked at etc.) then getting money from them could be tricky.

Ask the estate agent to ask the vendor who the other freeholder is, whether he lives there or is a landlord. It's a perfectly acceptable question. If you don't want to do it, get your solicitor to do it via the vendors solicitor.

pph

Yeah I have asked. If the guy comes across like a real fool then it might well make me think about sharing a freehold...

pph

Well - 2 months down the line and the seller's solicitor only started trying to contact the other freeholder last week! Totally incompetent, she not only didn't try and contact them for my request, but they only got the ID1 form to my solicitor on Monday.

We keep on asking why they didn't have a contact number and get a stony silence. Incompetence or fishy? Something to hide? Hope not... we are writing to him now just to introduce ourselves, make sure he doesn't have two heads.

FTBs just got more nervous...