Doubts before contract exchange - help!

Phil000

Thank you @Hoploz.

The lease is 99 years starting from the day of purchase completion.

Well, I've read a lot about the London market lately, everyone has completely different opinions, ranging from it will keep raising fast, to it will slow down drastically, to it will crash soon after Brexit. I would probably say London is a better place to buy then Italy right now (also because taxations for buy-to-let, which would be my only solution since I'm based in London, is crazy high there at the moment). So since I have this opportunity thanks to the family gift, it feels it would be remissive of me to miss out on it (I'm talking about buying in London in general, not this particular flat).

I came to realise too late that it is a standard hazard indeed!

Hoploz

Crash after Brexit? Oh, I didn't realise that decision had been made yet. I'm obviously out of date.

Now we are no longer in Europe nobody needs to live in London anymore, yes, I see it all now

Phil000

@Hoploz - lol, I know, I was just reporting one of the many theory I've read, not commenting on whether it makes any sense or not

AlexMac

I'd go ahead, in that you probably are just getting reasonably jittery about such a big decision.

Having owned property in both Italy and London over the past 30-40 years, I would bet money on London appreciating at a faster rate than Italy (or France, where our mate's place in a fashionable seaside town has flatlined over the past 10 years- any comparable UK falt would have doubled!)

Having said that, don't be bounced- they are probably BS'tting for their EA fee, as they don't get paid til completeion, so call their bluff. Say you resent their misleading you by exaggerating the lease by 20 years, that you are not going to be pushed around, and if you have the bottle and are really prepared to lose it- gazunder them by a few £k because of them mis-speaking the lease.
Say you'll only proceed if they drop the price by say, £3-5k, then sit back and tough it out.

Or, if you are not a negotiator, just move to exchange as it is.

The money you'll save in rent will compensate even if the London market flattens a bit- which I do not for a minute think it will.

good luck

Phil000

Thank you all for your replies! Really appreciated. I'm still on 2 minds here, but it's helping me to see different perspectives on the matter.

Phil000

Hello everyone again. I've had a few exchanges with the EA to get to the bottom of the lease duration thing, and his answers were perplexing. He first wrote me that he confirmed with the vendor that the lease should be 125 years and it's probably a mistake on the paper work, and he then call me back 10 minutes later to say that actually the vendor changed his mind 2 months ago and went for a shorter lease. I've never received any notification about this from anyone.

I read online that 99 years is still considered a long lease, however if I sell the flat again in 5-6 years time, might this impact me negatively? Will it do in 10? Also, my mortgage was offered on the 125 lease base, I'm getting worried this can now change their offer to higher interest rates? I'm under the impression that, since I have a decent deposit and the vendor knows that I won't have much trouble getting a mortgage, they decided not to bother extending the lease as they advertised initially. Is there anything I can do at this point to make them extend it to 125 years, or to get a discount?

Many thanks again!

tiger_eyes

Do I understand correctly that you're still not certain of the actual lease length? You're relying on the estate agent? You need the lease length in writing in a formal letter from their solicitor to yours. Only then can you rely on it.

If the lease length is not as originally described, make absolutely certain your mortgage lender knows this as it may affect their valuation of the property. My lender pulled out on exchange day (several times!) due to confusion over the lease length.

Do you actually like the flat? Are you looking forward to living there?

hazyjo

Never ever believe the EA when it comes to leases. Get your solicitor to see the lease and confirm. The EA is totally lying when he said the seller 'changed his mind'. I bet he's just plucked that excuse out of thin air.


Also, I think you should delete your other thread as this is going to get confusing. Generally you should stick with one.


Jx

hazyjo

PS At a guess, is it around Wood Street? I don't live too far away (Chingford).

AlexMac

hazyjo wrote: »

Never ever believe the EA when it comes to leases. Get your solicitor to see the lease and confirm. The EA is totally lying ..
Jx

Absolutely agree; to reply to your supplementary Q, when a lease is down to a couple of years over 80, things get problematic as extension may require 2 years oqnwership and after 80 years extension gets dearer;
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/extend-your-lease

But your solicitor's checking the lease and reporting back to you ...

-on 'title' (the lease terms and what you're buying), results of searches, what the service charges are, if there's a 'sinking fund' for repairs and whether there are big maintenence bills due, etc....

...is what you pay a £grand - plus to your solicitor for. The EA has absolutely no accountability (short of not knowingly lying). Your solicitor must report to you before you exchange... or if not, they ain't doing their job. So ask when they will do this, and meanwhile ignore the EAs BS