Section 21 Notice and wanting to buy

spooky69

mrginge wrote: »

Hello.

Who knows why the LL either doesn't know you're interested, or isn't bothered. It might seem completely irrational to you, but you can't force the guy to sell to you (Are you actually in a position to buy?).

Given that you appear to have tried to start this conversation with him and so far failed, i would concentrate my efforts on finding somewhere new to live. Priority should be to understand how soon the LL will be going to court to enforce eviction if you do not leave. The last thing you should do is ignore this problem and then find you've been booted out on your return from holiday.

If you're looking for ways to delay or prevent your eviction then unless there are paperwork issues that you can use, i'm afraid there's nothing else you can do, since the LL has a legal right to recover the property.

The advice given on here for LL's looking to sell is ALWAYS to evict the tenant before marketing, so tbh the LL's actions seem perfectly sensible to me. If i was in their position I would also be looking to sell on the open (rising) market, rather than to a tenant who might be looking for some massive discount and then possibly start to make things difficult if they didn't get one.
Given that they haven't been personally involved in your tenancy for 8 years it also seems logical that they wouldn't want to get personally involved in your eviction.

Thanks for your post - some good points.

I am in a position to buy and I am perfectly happy to pay the market rate (although the sales division of this agency have been in the area for 18 months now and have still not sold one property where I live - they have all been over-priced - other agencies sell within days here). I'm not looking for the owner to get less in his pocket than he otherwise would.

I have to think that you would at least have a conversation with the tenant before eviction to establish if there is a deal to be done - why delay dialogue with a potential buyer?

Clearly all I can do is make every effort to have a dialogue. It would certainly be harder to buy the place if I have to spend on moving out first and enter into a rental agreement for a period of time that I might not need. It just seems a ridiculous situation and I have a very upset wife and child as a result.

spooky69

Quizzical_Squirrel wrote: »

There's usually something in the rental contract that includes a commission to the agent when a tenant buys the property. The agreements I've signed have always been a higher than usual market rate too so it's definitely been in the agent's interest for me, the tenant, to be the buyer.

Having a situation where the tenant buys the property puts all the landlord's eggs in one basket. If I were the landlord I'd think twice about selling the property to a tenant. It might be a relatively easy sale but it almost certainly won't be for the price I could have achieved with a spruced up, empty house on the open market.

I obviously do not have access to the agreement between the agent and the landlord, but that agreement was with a completely different agent. I would also question why the letting agent are organising access for a competing sales agent if they are contractually entitled to a commission on sale anyway. This makes me believe that they are not automatically entitled to a commission.

I'll never know of course. ;-)

The only reason the landlord might sell it for less to me would be if they considered the reduced costs to them - there is no reason that they should get less in their pockets and I would not expect them to do that. I wouldn't be silly enough to offer less than they can get in this market. If they want to price it high and wait to see if they ever get a bite then I can't do anything about that. A brief conversation would establish this.

mrginge

spooky69 wrote: »

It just seems a ridiculous situation and I have a very upset wife and child as a result.

Then your priority should be to secure their short term future and let this house go.
If you are really ready to buy (and not just because of a reaction to this s.21) then you might find something vastly more suitable if you can take the time to look.

Annie1960

I had a colleague in a similar situation some years ago. They were renting a property, had been there long term, then the LL wanted to sell.

The LL would not sell to them, wanted vacant possession then put it onto the market. I suspect solicitors may give this advice to vendors, as having vacant possession is crucial in most cases.

Of course, you have the added complication of a new and unhelpful LA, which is certainly not helping.

spooky69

mrginge wrote: »

Then your priority should be to secure their short term future and let this house go.
If you are really ready to buy (and not just because of a reaction to this s.21) then you might find something vastly more suitable if you can take the time to look.

Absolutely.

I have been ready to buy for a while but the family have been happy and settled, my boy has friends here and his grandmother and great grandmother live about 10 houses down in the same road, so I was happy to maintain the status quo and keep renting.

I had thought that if they wanted to sell then I would talk to them about it - it never occurred to me that I would not be allowed to - I thought it would be a welcome conversation if they wanted to sell.

It has put me in a very difficult position and this is extremely frustrating. It is going to be extremely difficult to get something to rent sorted in the time available and also move everything due to us being overseas for various periods individually - at all times over the next 2 months there will be one or more of us away. Additionally, there is no chance of buying a property in the time available and renting somewhere obviously diverts cash at the very time you don't want to do it if trying to buy, besides which I would have to get a tenancy for no less than 6 months, potential crossover, etc.

Such is life, but it isn't something I saw coming.

spooky69

Annie1960 wrote: »

I had a colleague in a similar situation some years ago. They were renting a property, had been there long term, then the LL wanted to sell.

The LL would not sell to them, wanted vacant possession then put it onto the market. I suspect solicitors may give this advice to vendors, as having vacant possession is crucial in most cases.

Of course, you have the added complication of a new and unhelpful LA, which is certainly not helping.

Interesting. Did they offer the right price for the property or would the landlord not even discuss it?

Annie1960

spooky69 wrote: »

Interesting. Did they offer the right price for the property or would the landlord not even discuss it?

It was in West London and prices were stable at the time. They offered the asking price. LL would not even consider it, wanted them out. They were a very nice family, consultant in a hospital, had very good income, but LL still wanted them out. The only reason that comes to mind is vacant possession.

spooky69

Annie1960 wrote: »

It was in West London and prices were stable at the time. They offered the asking price. LL would not even consider it, wanted them out. They were a very nice family, consultant in a hospital, had very good income, but LL still wanted them out. The only reason that comes to mind is vacant possession.

That sounds utterly bizarre - offering the asking price and still being made to leave? Were they dealing directly with the landlord or was it through an agent?

Sorry for all the questions, it just seems such an odd way to go about things.

When my mother bought her house many years ago the owner effectively lent her the money to proceed until her house was sold - wouldn't even take any interest and said it was helping her to move quickly as well (all against her solicitor's advice of course). How times change.

SerialRenter

You say you've found the the landlords family members on facebook. Have you engaged in conversation with them? That strikes me as the best way of getting the direct contact details of the landlord, by pass the agency completely.

Further to that, your contract may state that the deposit is protected, but you need to check if it has been with the following schemes:
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/tenancy_deposits/tenancy_deposit_protection_schemes/deposit_protection_and_tenancy_deposit_schemes

Contact all of them and report back if it's protected or not, as its highly relevant to the validity of the S21.

spooky69

SerialRenter wrote: »

You say you've found the the landlords family members on facebook. Have you engaged in conversation with them? That strikes me as the best way of getting the direct contact details of the landlord, by pass the agency completely.

Further to that, your contract may state that the deposit is protected, but you need to check if it has been with the following schemes:
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/tenancy_deposits/tenancy_deposit_protection_schemes/deposit_protection_and_tenancy_deposit_schemes

Contact all of them and report back if it's protected or not, as its highly relevant to the validity of the S21.

Thanks, I'll get onto that.

I'll also try to push the family member but I have no way of knowing what the agent has told them and their family situation might make them inclined to want someone else to deal with it for them.