Help estate agents mess up place is over 60s only

johnnyloco

Just heard from the sols that the place im buying is over 60s retirement place. The solicitors are looking to get the deeds changed. Is this all goes tits up are the estate agents liable for any costs as its not as described? Or am I in dream land.

G_M

Dreamland.

Unless the agent deliberately misled you.

EAs can only describe the place as the sellers advise them. They are not solicitors - that's why you have a solicitor to check for legal restrictions, Rights Of Way etc on the property.

googler

johnnyloco wrote: »

Just heard from the sols that the place im buying is over 60s retirement place. The solicitors are looking to get the deeds changed. Is this all goes tits up are the estate agents liable for any costs as its not as described? Or am I in dream land.

Surely something must have given you a clue when you viewed it?

Elderly people? A lack of cars? A warden's office? Handrails? Alarm cords in every room?

You did view it, didn't you?

Got a link to the agent's listing?

johnnyloco

Yes I did view it and the estate agents told me it was previously a retirement home.

Anybody seen this sort of issue before, hoping the solictors can just get this all sorted really.

G_M

If this is a genuine, current, 'retirement place', with age restrictions, I doubt the solicitor can 'get this all sorted'.

Only if it is an ex retirement place

googler

If it was 'previously' a retirement development (give us some more clues - is it a flatted block, individual houses, what?), then the only people to impose such a condition would be those who ran it as a retirement development. If they're no longer doing so, such restrictions won't apply

Round my way, this is typically done by housing associations and the like.

Is your solicitor saying that there's some restriction in the title deeds of the property, or not?

SailorSam

There was a programme on Tv recently about one of the biggest retirement places in the country. They were encouraging people, perhaps even putting pressure on buyers of their retirement apartments to go down the part-exchange route when selling their existing home. The old people were being ripped off for many many thousands.

googler

SailorSam wrote: »

There was a programme on Tv recently about one of the biggest retirement places in the country. They were encouraging people, perhaps even putting pressure on buyers of their retirement apartments to go down the part-exchange route when selling their existing home. The old people were being ripped off for many many thousands.

How is this relevant to the OP's situation?

johnnyloco

Its an apartment block, and I was told that it was a retirement area but this has now changed.

My solicitor said he had asked the other solicitors to get the deeds changed. I guess I can only wait and see what happens but I was just wondering if anyone was liable for all the costs i've paid if this doesnt go through....

googler

Who's selling it? The company that ran it as a retirement dev, or the current/previous elderly occupant (or their executors).

johnnyloco

that part I don't know, its currently unnocupied and I never met the sellor.

There's even another flat in the block currently being offered to rent on rightmove...

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-34973470.html