How much pushing is appropriate

Thrugelmir

Bossypants wrote: »

I would agree that in general I am an impatient person, but to be honest I don't think it's impatience to wonder where I stand when after two months the seller hasn't even provided her solicitor with ID.

Assume the worst. Start looking for another property. I would question whether the mortgage is now even being paid.

Bossypants

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Assume the worst. Start looking for another property. I would question whether the mortgage is now even being paid.

Good point. How would I find that out (besides asking her), and would it affect the sale? If it helps the offer I have made is significantly above the guide price and even more significantly above price she originally paid 10 years ago, so there should logically be some flexibility there to pay off the outstanding debts out of the proceeds of the sale.

Bossypants

Welp, in case anyone is curious, the vendor did provide all the necessary documents last week, which was a great relief. I also asked to be put in direct contact with the freeholder, which she was happy to facilitate, only to discover that, as it turns out, the flat has no lease. It's a converted house with two flats, and although each flat is registered to its respective owner in the Land Registry, the only actual lease currently in existence is for the original house as it was pre-conversion. So that's exciting.

Call me foolish if you must, but I'm still holding out hope on this one (although at this point September is seeming more likely than May!). I'm now directly in contact with both the vendor and the freeholder, both of whom seem like good, reasonable people who are keen to work this situation out between them.

Question for the board, how long would this sort of thing usually take (i.e. to negotiate, draw up and execute a whole new lease for an existing flat)?

pleasedelete

if there isnt a lease then how is there a freeholder

Bossypants

There is a lease, but it's for the house prior to conversion. The person who originally held the lease for the whole house is the same person who later converted the building into two flats. He kept one flat and sold the other to my vendor, but apparently never had new leases drawn up to reflect the change. My vendor's solicitors at the time of purchase never picked up on the fact that there was no lease (gross negligence), and the estate of the original owner of the house still owns the other flat, so this has only just now come to light.