2nd floor flat 100% responsible for roof ?

zzzLazyDaisy

richimgd wrote: »

Ah right I see what you mean, that's pretty good advice. I'll probably do this if and when I make an offer!

You haven't put an offer in yet, so the EA is not going to waste a lot of time on answering your questions. I know it is a bit 'chicken and egg' but the only way forward is to put in an offer based on what you know - which is that you would be responsible for all repairs to any part of the building attached to your flat (which will almost certainly include gutters and facias, and will probably also include chimney stacks etc).

Once the offer is in and the process is rolling, your solicitor will get a copy of the lease and will be able to advise you in more detail. As far as the survey is concerned, it is not a bad idea to ask the surveyor to comment on the general condition of the building (not just your top part) since if there was subsidence or some other major structural problem, it would affect the whole building, even if you were not responsible for dealing with it.

As this is an unusual set up, though, it might work to your advantage as the seller might be willing to take a lower offer on a harder to sell property.

richimgd

Hi thanks for the responses. I forgot to mention I have put an offer in and worked on negotiating a price. I have got to the point that I am very close to having an offer accepted.

In particular right now I am unsure if I would be liable for the guttering and the fascia on the roof as well as the chimney stack and all 6 chimney pots also? It seems there are 2 chimney pots per flat so ideally for the deal to go through I want to know if at least some responsibility there is shared.

Also, I have done by own research by making contact with the other 2
flats. It turns out that all 3 flats have been told they have an
alocated parking space, even though there are only 2 spaces. If true
then the description is a bit misleading and it also suggests nobody
knows who owns the 2 parking spaces and really it would be more of a
first come first park basis which is not really the same as an 'alocated
off street parking space'.

richimgd

ognum wrote: »

Just be aware that while you may be prepared to take this on and deal with it a prospective purchaser when you come to sell may no.

This flat could become a liability!

This the main reason why I am a concerned. I am thinking of paying about £40-45 a month into an account to cover any roof costs.

The flat is already about £20k+ cheaper than similar flats in the area without this roof arrangement which would be way over my budget. Perhaps because it is in a sought after area and a very generous amount of space, if I couldn't sell it would make a great place to let out - assuming my future situation means I can handle this!

zzzLazyDaisy

richimgd wrote: »

Hi thanks for the responses. I forgot to mention I have put an offer in and worked on negotiating a price. I have got to the point that I am very close to having an offer accepted.'.

Put simply, you have to make sure that the offer you make accurately reflects the amount you are willing to pay, based on the information currently available to you.

If the survey or the lease reveal surprises or additional expenses that you were not aware of then you can go back and re-negotiate based on this new information. There is always a possibility also that the surveyor may value the flat lower than your offer, in which case your lender will reduce the amount of mortgage it is willing to lend and again this may result in you going back to re-negotiate the purchase price (I am assuming you are in England or Wales here as Scotland may be different).

Buying a place is a stage by stage process, and things can and do crop up that you didn't know about when you first put your offer in (in my case I discovered that there was land between my house and the road which I had no right to drive over, so that held the purchase up for a while until a right of way was legally sorted out).

richimgd

Thanks zzzLazyDaisy. I have made it clear that the offer is based on what I am currently aware of and subject to survey. I just want to find out as much detail as possible before I start to commit myself financially. E.g my mortgage advisor said the standard process would mean the solicitor wouldn't look over the lease until after the survey has been done, by which time I would have probably shelled out more than £1000 _pale_

Edit, yes I am in England.

jee

E.g my mortgage advisor said the standard process would mean the solicitor wouldn't look over the lease until after the survey has been done, by which time I would have probably shelled out more than £1000 _pale_

I am in a very similar position to you ie. buying a top floor flat where I am responsible for the roof. As it turned out the survey came back saying the roof needed replacing/repairs so I negotiated a reduction from the previously agreed sale price.

I asked my solicitor to look over the lease before the survey so I could point out the parts for the surveyor to focus on. I think this is normal practice and it makes no sense why the mortgage advisor is saying otherwise.

richimgd

jee wrote: »

I am in a very similar position to you ie. buying a top floor flat where I am responsible for the roof. As it turned out the survey came back saying the roof needed replacing/repairs so I negotiated a reduction from the previously agreed sale price.

I asked my solicitor to look over the lease before the survey so I could point out the parts for the surveyor to focus on. I think this is normal practice and it makes no sense why the mortgage advisor is saying otherwise.

Cheers for the post.

It is possible that I didn't address my concerns properly at that time (or at least emphasise them) so could possibly do things in a similar order to you. My mortgage advisor is getting the mortgage for me but I am also using his experience and contacts to get me a survey and solicitor etc. He is also dealing with the EA directly who is then in communication with the vendor.

I have addressed the new concerns about the specifics of the roof responsibility. I.e is it just for the tiles and main structure, or does it also include the guttering and fascias. There is also the chimney stack and chimney pots. In total there are 6 chimney pot which I would have guessed 2 belong to each flat - so I would like to know if I would be responsible for me 2 or all 6. I wanted to know this type of info before getting financially involved ideally. Are you responsible for your entire roof, plus guttering etc? What about the chimney stack/pots?

Edit: Had a response - I would be totally responsible for all the roof and chimney stack/pots also.

propertyman

This thread is a perfect example of how little buyers and the EA and Mortgage advisor understand.

A normal procedure is just that, for normal properties.

Where you are relatively certain of the property and surrounding issues the balance of risk that a major repair issue will come to light or that the country view is shortly to become a windmill farm is low, use the normal process.

When the balance of risk is high, it is senseless to start the conveyancing process or funding work until a survey is carried out, or in this case that the Solicitor first looks at all the leases before doing anything else.

using a firm of solicitors ( and not a conveyancing factory) and good photos of each elevation will mean that they can acquire leases and give advice in a matter of days.

You can then pull out or renegotiate, without wasting time and money on the "normal process".

If in such cases people are telling you " the normal process is" there is good chance they aren't listening or don't understand. Bin them.

jee

The lease says the whole roof plus the roof space. This includes the two chimney stacks. Guttering and weather boards are the responsibility of the ground floor flat (there are only two flats).
May I ask why your mortgage advisor is also sorting out a solicitor for you? Is the advisor a friend or relative?

I think it would be prudent for you to appoint your own solicitor unless the advisor is a friend/relative. I think this would work more in your favour.

Who is the mortgage with? I took out Halifax and got a level 2 survey- this was only a couple of hundred more than the standard valuation.

Before the survey took place I spoke to my solicitor about the lease and he sent me a copy where he marked his concerns- ie. the responsibility for the roof and how costs are split for the flat.

The surveyor called me a day before it was carried out and I went over which areas I want him to look at. The roof was my main concern.

The valuation came back and I then got my mortgage offer through.
I spoke to the estate agent myself about the state of the roof and took a builder with me to view the property again (third time) and he gave me a quote for repairs.

I then contacted the EA and started my negotiation with the price- i told him that my offer was going to now be lower because the roof needs extensive repair. Luckily the vendor is reasonable and agrees some, but not all, of the money I wanted off.

The problem I forsee for a mortgage advisor appointing and negotiating for you is that he knows how much money can borrow and it works in his favour for you to borrow as much as possible. If he knows you can afford to pay more there is less incentive for him to negotiate hard on your behalf.

propertyman

It alarmed me that the OP commented that the EA and MA were all liaising and the latter arranging a solicitor.

Buying a home is a huge undertaking and liability, people need to understand and be in control of each stage.

It's not about trust or being ripped off it's about knowing what they are up to and as MSE shows how often they
1: just get it wrong
2: how hard it is to get redress.

Home buying should eat up a lot of time and give you a headache understanding it. It's the roof over your head and every penny you have .