Lied to about lease length- panic

ognum

skintpaul wrote: »

Would report EA, too- surely they have a duty not to mis represent a property?

An estate agent can only report what the vendor tells him.

agrinnall

SmlSave wrote: »

Could it not be that the lease is for 999 years and there is only 85 years left, hence the confusion?

I don't think there are that many flats around that were built 914 years ago...

ognum

heytink wrote: »

First time buyers could really use some help please.

Offer accepted on a flat, were told numerous times by the EA that the lease was in excess of 100 years, we have just had our mortgage offer in writing through the post which states the lease as 85 years.

How do we proceed? I cannot fathom why the seller would lie about the lease, surely it would always have been found out!?

My question is: if lenders dont know the value of the lease, do they go with the minimum they would lend on when doing the survey/issuing offer? (clutching at straws I know, just wanted to rule it out)

How do lenders find out lease information? If they have stated this length on our offer, is it likely to be correct

thanks

I have found that many vendors do not actually know the length of the lease on the property they own.

eddddy

heytink wrote: »

How do lenders find out lease information? If they have stated this length on our offer, is it likely to be correct

Your solicitor will tell your lender.

Your lender might adjust their valuation as a result.

The lease will probably cost a few thousand to extend by 90 years (price of the extension plus legal costs) - i.e. a 'statutory lease extension'.

In the circumstances, I would say it's reasonable to drop your offer by a few thousand.

Statutory Lease extensions typically take a few months. So if you ask the vendor to do it before you buy, you could have a long wait.

If the vendor has owned the flat for at least 2 years, you can ask them to serve a section 42 notice on the freeholder, to speed up the process: See: http://www.lease-advice.org/information/faqs/faq.asp?item=189


(Personally, I would put my efforts into buying this property or finding another one, rather than complaining to the EA.)

w00519772

I bought a property with a leased garage. The EA and vendor told me what they knew. I had to find everything else out myself. I was very thorough. I found problems, which I was not told about. However, I satisfied myself that they cou8ld be/would be resolved. I was a first time buyer.

It is your responsibility to find out as much as you can. The EA and seller will tell you what they know but they may not know everything.

I think it will be very difficult to prove that someone lied.

If you pull out then I would learn from the experience and be more thorough next time.

Lionel_Thinkbag

I looked at a leasehold flat that was pretty much perfect in every way, I asked the EA on the viewing how long the lease was and got the usual vague waffling but they thought it was over 120 years, so I asked them to find out and get back to me. Anyway, turns out it was something like 89 years. That place is still on the market.

But in fairness to the OP I wouldn't have known how to check either - nobody actually tells you this stuff - not even most solicitors. FTB get thrown in at the deep end. Really, they should teach this stuff in schools.

Anyway, thats the system we have in England and Wales. You can pay through the nose for surveys and solicitors and searches just to get to the point of discovering the property isn't actually a viable option.

haras_nosirrah

Before pulling out, renegotiation or reporting the ea as some have done maybe ask your solicitor to confirm the lease length before going in all guns blazing

Surveyors sometimes guess the lease length - I pretty much have to constantly get nationwide to amend the lease length back to what I put on the mortgage application as it has changed. (Had one yesterday where offer says 85 years and application says 115 years which the housing association has confirmed is correct

Check the facts first before doing something you may regret

DandelionPatrol

haras_nosirrah wrote: »

Before pulling out, renegotiation or reporting the ea as some have done maybe ask your solicitor to confirm the lease length before going in all guns blazing

Surveyors sometimes guess the lease length - I pretty much have to constantly get nationwide to amend the lease length back to what I put on the mortgage application as it has changed. (Had one yesterday where offer says 85 years and application says 115 years which the housing association has confirmed is correct

Check the facts first before doing something you may regret

Makes sense. Perhaps some surveyors use 85 years as a working assumption and value accordingly. I suppose this might be the minimum lease at which value is substantially unaffected. If there is less lease, the value will need looking at again, if there is more, the valuation will probably be about right.

If you look at OP, the above is my bet on what has happened

heytink wrote: »

Offer accepted on a flat, were told numerous times by the EA that the lease was in excess of 100 years, we have just had our mortgage offer in writing through the post which states the lease as 85 years.

You find out the mortgage length from your solicitor or by your own research as in a previous post. The mortgage offer is not the primary document for establishing length of mortgage. I would ignore this figure and find out for certain. Especially before going off on one at the Agent.

kinger101

Lionel_Thinkbag wrote: »

I looked at a leasehold flat that was pretty much perfect in every way, I asked the EA on the viewing how long the lease was and got the usual vague waffling but they thought it was over 120 years, so I asked them to find out and get back to me. Anyway, turns out it was something like 89 years. That place is still on the market.

But in fairness to the OP I wouldn't have known how to check either - nobody actually tells you this stuff - not even most solicitors. FTB get thrown in at the deep end. Really, they should teach this stuff in schools.

Anyway, thats the system we have in England and Wales. You can pay through the nose for surveys and solicitors and searches just to get to the point of discovering the property isn't actually a viable option.

Given the minimal cost involved, it would be far simpler of the legislation was strengthened to make it plain the the EA had to check this before marketing the property, and rely only on documentation rather than what the vendor tells them.

The law is not particularly clear on what their responsibility in this respect is. Although a seasoned buyer might check this before placing an offer even, and certainly before incurring other expenses, it's not the first time this has caught out an FTB.

I know some people will come back with the caveat emptor thing, but there are actually some responsibilities that come with advertising.

[Deleted User]

I imagine the lease was in excess of 100 years, when the vendor bought it. It's always best to ask how many years are REMAINING on the lease. Although in fairness to EA's- they only go on what they're told by the vendor. Personally I think they should be a bit more savvy themselves, but at the end of the day they're only passing on info. I agree they should teach this in schools though- we are FTB and wouldn't have had a clue about any of it were it not for my mum (who works in property) guiding me through every step!