Homebuyer survey provided wrong lease length!

NazK

Hi all
I hope someone can point me in right direction. Back in 2007 I bought a leasehold flat. At the time I opted for the middle tier Homebuyers survey. They provided survey details which stated there was a good 89 years on the lease. It turns out that at the time there was in fact only 76 years on the lease. Those details went straight to the building society and they left the mortgage based on those details. I'm now looking at a very costly lease extension, and unable to sell the property without doing so.
Does anyone know can I claim any compensation from the survey company? Was the mortgage ever valid? Who can I go to for the correct advice?
Thanks very much in advance!!

IAmWales

Surely you had a copy of the lease that would have confirmed the time left?

davidmcn

It's your solicitor who confirms the details of the lease, not the surveyor (though they may have made a guess at it). What did your solicitor tell you about the lease? If the term was different from that in the mortgage valuation then the solicitor should have told the valuer/lender in case that affected the value or decision to lend.

Your mortgage is certainly valid as between you and your lender.

G_M

Surveyors look at property condition and construction. They are not lawyers and do not check legal documnets.

If the survey mentioned a lease legth, it would have been based on what they were told eg by seller, estate agent, or the party who instructed them (you or the mortgage lender).

It is for you, or your conveyancer if you use one, to check the legal details.

The lease would give the definitive information ad you would have received this at the time.

NazK

Thanks for the replies. Only now looking through the documents I can see the lease length is shorter than I thought. I guess my solicitor at the time didn't bother to check, and I was a young impatient first time buyer.
The lenders agreement states that it quotes the lease length directly from the surveyor, who was appointed by the lender.
If there's nothing to be done, so be it. I didn't know what I was doing at the time, and I'm pretty stuck now. The freeholder does not seem to be a particularly nice person, I think I'm going to face a very high price for extending the lease, which will be simply impossible for me to fund, let alone legal costs of arguing over the estimate.
I thought I'd ask as I can't see a way through the situation.
Thanks again.

Cakeguts

Your lender would have known the lease length and so would your solicitor so there is no one who owes you compensation.

You can sell the flat with a short lease. You put it into an auction and someone who doesn't need a mortgage will buy it. You won't get as much for it as you would if it had a longer lease but then you wouldn't have had the cost of extending the lease.

cashbackproblems

Ouch if you had done any research when buying a leasehold property it would have been something you ask even before doing a viewing. Also as pointed out it would be in your lease pack and final solicitors report if you tried to complain you would be laughed at

Ok you now have to pay a marriage fee as its below 80 years and unfortunately the laws are less in your favour than if you were extending above 80 years. Btw i wouldnt have even touched a flat with 89 years lease, its acceptable but too low imo.

Has the freeholder given you a quote to extend?

AdrianC

If the lease was 89 years in 2007, it would now be below the 80 year marriage-value threshold anyway. You could have gone down the statutory extension route at any time after you'd owned the property for two years. You still can, so it makes not one jot of difference how "nice" a person the freeholder may or may not be.

stator

Use the statutory process to extend the lease

NazK

Thanks again everyone for your replies. The freeholder wants me to use a surveyor that he knows and uses a lot. Does this seem reasonable? I'd be worried about them arranging an unfair price as they know each other. Do I have any choice in the matter?
Thanks!!

Doozergirl

The freeholder will use their own surveyor. You are welcome to request your own valuation elsewhere and negotiate.