Freeholder nightmare, Elmdon real estate/Korax LLP

christianG

Hi everyone,
Having huge difficulties with my freeholder, selling the house, and only waiting on a letter from the freeholder to confirm I don't have any monies outstanding. He has taken £120 for this (ground rent is only £5 per year), cashed his cheque and now nobody can get hold of him! Been 2 weeks, and no answer on his phone, fax or email. We are only waiting on this to exchange contracts.
My buyer is furious! If they pull out, can I take him to court? Surely he cannot just cash the cheque then do nothing!!

Anybody know what to do next??

Thanks

[Deleted User]

If the ground rent is £5 and you have provided paperwork showing this, I'd suggest letting your solicitor keep £100 for a year in case a bill is discovered at a later date.

Its not going to be a fortune even if (from the buyer's point of view) there was a problem.

But obviously its up to the buyer whether they wait, proceed or decide not to.

I'm not sure what you can do to make the freeholder play ball. It sounds like he's not getting much out of being a freeholder lol.

Two weeks is nothing for a freeholder. If your buyer is this impatient, they are shooting themselves in the foot and waiting for a heart attack lol.

Freecall

deannatrois wrote: »

If the ground rent is £5 and you have provided paperwork showing this, I'd suggest letting your solicitor keep £100 for a year in case a bill is discovered at a later date.

If the freeholder has taken no action to recover any debts you may have to him then -

£5 x 6 years (maximum time for action) = £30

Just suggest you give £30 to the new owner as a good will gesture.

Talk about solicitors making mountains out of molehills.

SnowWhiterThanWhite

Problem is, with your freeholder ignoring this, what sort of message does it give the new buyer?
As a prospective buyer, I would be having 2nd thoughts if I knew that the F/H would not be available after purchase should any problems arise?