Advertised loft not part of lease

AndyZ

Hi, advice needed.
So I put in an offer for a flat with advertised loft space. But after getting a survey and digging around I have found out that the loft and current modifications to it are in breach of the lease. The seller says loft not included & seems reluctant to make any changes so...
I can pull out of purchase and lose money spent so far.
I can go ahead with purchase and hope landlord doesn't ask me to revert illegal changes to the loft made by previous owners.
Or... get a lawyer on the case (am only using a conveyancer)??

BitterAndTwisted

Get a lawyer on the case to do what? Conveyancing solicitors turn up all sorts of things during the purchasing process, that's what you're paying them for. Whether you choose to act of their advice is up to you.

I wouldn't touch this property with a barge-pole. I would also guess that the vendors are going to have a heck of a job selling this property in its current state with an illegal development like that. Unless you like protracted legal battles with a freeholder with more money than you, or the Local Authority's Planning people with greater resources that either of you.

AndyZ

Indeed, advice accepted.
But I turned this up - the conveyancers only confirmed it and got me the full picture and the Homebuyer's report made no mention! So not quite worth what I paid them for!
Someone else may not properly check the lease.

TrickyDicky101

Why would a homebuyers identify an extension that doesn't, comply with the lease?

AndyZ

generally it wouldn't Tricky, the conveyancers would. But homebuyers does in fact bring to attention modifications that might not have been approved by the landlord

DVardysShadow

AndyZ wrote: »

so...
I can pull out of purchase and lose money spent so far.

And what is the problem with losing the money spent so far?

So many people [ftb's particularly] come up against some problem and plough on with a purchase, despite the problem, because they don't want to "lose the money spent so far". Take this thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3879679 for an example. Let himself be swindled out of £20,000 or more in order not to lose his fees.

Now, listen up. If you spend money on fees buying a property and you discover a problem which means you decide to pull out, the fees are money well spent. Arguably the fees are only a waste of money when you decide to go ahead with a purchase ...

eddddy

AndyZ wrote: »

I can pull out of purchase and lose money spent so far.
I can go ahead with purchase and hope landlord doesn't ask me to revert illegal changes to the loft made by previous owners.
Or... get a lawyer on the case (am only using a conveyancer)??

An EA told me he was just selling a flat in a similar situation. He says he told the buyer to treat the loft as a 'freebie', and not mention it to his solicitor. As long as the freeholder doesn't find out, he can continue using the loft - and presumably sell it on again on the same basis.

But if the freeholder finds out, he has to give the loft back.

I don't know the outcome - whether the sale completed etc. And I'm not recommending this approach, as I don't know all the legal implications. (I'm just reporting what an EA told me - so it must be true! )

As for "getting a lawyer on the case...", the outcome would be that either you have to give the loft back, or negotiate with the freeholder to buy a lease on the loft. (And if, for example, you think a lease on the loft is worth £10k, and the freeholder thinks it's worth £100k, the negotiations might be quite lengthy!)

AndyZ

That's kind of funny ed. because it's exactly what the seller did and probably expects me to continue!
The loft is simply not mine to do anything with if I take on the lease, but I would have to make sure the landlord was fine with the state of things for peace of mind.

sims01

Shouldn't it be possible to get some kind of indemnity insurance for this? Or is that only possible for planning violations?

In any case, it sounds like a great opportunity to renegotiate the price, if you still want the flat.