House sale about to collapse

Mallotum_X

D00gie72 wrote: »

Have you actualy asked your mortgage lender if the panels/lease would be an issue?
I have solar panels on my house - and in the process of selling. I recently rang a number of mortgage lenders to find out if my panels would be an issue - and ALL of then said not a problem - they would still lend.
Just wondering if it's just a preconception that is putting you off this house - or an actuall reality of not being able to get a mortgage. From my experience the panels will save you money on electricity - about 30-40% in my case so why disregard this house unless you have actually been refused a mortgage?

Just a thought...

Do you have the free ones, or ones you had installed yourself. The issue is around the lease for the free ones and the extra complications this can bring. There has been plenty in the press over the last couple of years about this being an issue for many mortgage co's

D00gie72

Mallotum_X wrote: »

Do you have the free ones, or ones you had installed yourself. The issue is around the lease for the free ones and the extra complications this can bring. There has been plenty in the press over the last couple of years about this being an issue for many mortgage co's

Yes it is the free ones I have. I understand there were some bad press reports a couple of years ago - and back then there were issues with people getting mortgages - but since then the Council of Mortgage lenders issued guidlelines regarding the Solar panel leases. I totally understand that people have a negative view of these panels - and get why this is. What I would like to get a view on is - are people - now - being refused mortgages. Anyone with a CML compliant lease should not be having issues any longer - but unfortuantely the stigma around these leases still remains...

londonmaiden

D00gie72 wrote: »

Have you actualy asked your mortgage lender if the panels/lease would be an issue?
I have solar panels on my house - and in the process of selling. I recently rang a number of mortgage lenders to find out if my panels would be an issue - and ALL of then said not a problem - they would still lend.
Just wondering if it's just a preconception that is putting you off this house - or an actuall reality of not being able to get a mortgage. From my experience the panels will save you money on electricity - about 30-40% in my case so why disregard this house unless you have actually been refused a mortgage?

Just a thought...

Our Solicitor is liaising with our broker to work out the terms of the lease they would be happy with, there is no guarantee they will be happy to lend. It's not just getting a mortgage initially that's the problem, it's then remortgaging and trying to sell in future that you have to consider. Unfortunately the copy lease we have been supplied with has no dates or names on it so is worth no more than a piece of toilet paper which doesn't fill you full of reassurance.

D00gie72

I guess it's going to come down to how much you want this house. You will need to assertain if the lease for the panels has been updated with the CML requirements. To be honest the vendor should be doing this (as I did with ours) If it's not - they can contact the solar panel company and ask for a Deed of Variation to make it compliant.
If you know which company the panels are leased with - you may be able to get a copy of the lease via the internet.

If you're using a broker - they should be able to advise you re which companies are happy with these leases - but if not then the solar company themselves could provide you with a list of lease happy lenders. (I know our company will do this anyway)

HTH

londonmaiden

D00gie72 wrote: »

I guess it's going to come down to how much you want this house. You will need to assertain if the lease for the panels has been updated with the CML requirements. To be honest the vendor should be doing this (as I did with ours) If it's not - they can contact the solar panel company and ask for a Deed of Variation to make it compliant.
If you know which company the panels are leased with - you may be able to get a copy of the lease via the internet.

If you're using a broker - they should be able to advise you re which companies are happy with these leases - but if not then the solar company themselves could provide you with a list of lease happy lenders. (I know our company will do this anyway)

HTH

Thanks, unfortunately we have had to pull out as the lease stipulates that any works that are required to the roof we have to pay the solar panel company to remove and replace the panels before and after and also compensate them for the loss in the energy. I just don't know why anyone would want to sign up to that. Plus the vendor has now lost his house so the chain has collapsed. All in all a complete waste of time, I just wish they'd had told us before. Nevermind, lesson learnt!

AdrianC

londonmaiden wrote: »

Hang on, why should we as a consumer not be able to trust the information supplied by the estate agent and vendor?

The EA can only go on what the vendor tells them. Their job is not to verify all of the information independently. Their job is to advertise the place and not knowingly misrepresent it. The vendor might have made a genuine error or omission in telling the EA - yes, or they might be trying to pull a fast one.

NOTHING was mentioned about the lease of the roof in the particulars, why should we need to ask?

That's what you pay your solicitor for.

londonmaiden

adrianc wrote: »

the ea can only go on what the vendor tells them. Their job is not to verify all of the information independently. Their job is to advertise the place and not knowingly misrepresent it. The vendor might have made a genuine error or omission in telling the ea - yes, or they might be trying to pull a fast one.



That's what you pay your solicitor for.

there were two buyers that pulled out before us they would have known about the lease before we made our offer. Thank you. Goodnight vienna.

bebewoo

I just read the OFT guidance on property sales, it really is there in black and white. Failure to mention that "roof space is leased to a solar panel provider" is a Misleading Omission.

The estate agent has knowingly misled them in direct contravention of the regulations.

OP, print out this
http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/estate-agents/OFT1364.pdf
and show them clause 4.15 on Misleading Omissions. Then show them Section 6 on the various actions you can bring against them. Show your solicitor too, he/she probably is clueless about the regulations.

Dan-Dan

bebewoo wrote: »

I just read the OFT guidance on property sales, it really is there in black and white. Failure to mention that "roof space is leased to a solar panel provider" is a Misleading Omission.

Isnt this in relation to being disclosed during the conveyancing?

londonmaiden

bebewoo wrote: »

I just read the OFT guidance on property sales, it really is there in black and white. Failure to mention that "roof space is leased to a solar panel provider" is a Misleading Omission.

The estate agent has knowingly misled them in direct contravention of the regulations.

OP, print out this
http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/estate-agents/OFT1364.pdf
and show them clause 4.15 on Misleading Omissions. Then show them Section 6 on the various actions you can bring against them. Show your solicitor too, he/she probably is clueless about the regulations.

Thank you, this is exactly my point! And this is where I sourced my information from and what we will be using to confirm the grounds on which we will be seeking to recover our costs.

Dan-Dan wrote: »

Isnt this in relation to being disclosed during the conveyancing?

No it is in relation to the sale of the property by the Estate Agent and their duty to disclose non standard features of the property regardless of whether the vendor has informed them or not.