Vendor solicitor won't answer the last remaining enquiries

Thrugelmir

tiny_jackal wrote: »

I am really at a loss about what to do to force them to answer.

Assume that the executors of the estate know nothing. Having been in the this situation myself I know how difficult it is to answer some of the enquiries. However straightforward they may seem.

Mrs_Imp

Is the certificate of compliance something that your solicitor can find out for you? When I bought a flat the vendor didn't supply the necessary planning permission. After a couple of months my solicitor gave up asking him and just did his own research to find it from the council. Yes it cost me a little extra, but it meant that the sale could proceed.

diggingdude

Have you reminded everyone that your mortgage is about to expire and you won't be seeking to extend it etc without a damn good reason for the delays

Hoploz

£5000 for upcoming works? That's a lot. What is the estimated full cost to the flat? If this is to cover the full amount for works that have not been done and which the seller would get no benefit from, then there is no reason they should accept this. Why should they pay for work done afte they've sold and which will benefit you?

And I still don't get what the compliance certificate is for.

You need to explain to the estate agent that your mortgage is going to expire and cannot be extended (can it BTW?) and therefore you would have to pull out if these items aren't resolved within that time frame.

However if you aren't bothered then you need to ask your solicitor exactly how you can proceed without the answers, satisfying the lender on the compliance thing some other way eg indemnity. The retention on the upcoming works you may choose to forego or lose the property

tiny_jackal

Hi, thank you Hoploz and all for your kind replies. The current situation is that the retention has (surprisingly) been granted. So it's one obstacle less!
Unfortunately we are still awaiting the certificate of compliance from the freeholder, and time is really running out.
The certificate of compliance is, as far as I understand, a certificate saying that the previous lease has been complied with -- e.g. there are no undocumented alterations, for example -- and without it the property cannot be transferred to a new owner.

We keep chasing everyone but so far, no joy.

m0bov

I have brought and sold leasehold, never had a certificate like that. Can you get indemnity instead?

tiny_jackal

m0bov, I am not sure. I understand that a certificate of compliance is needed only if there's a restriction on the lease. This explains it well (well, I only kind of understand it but I am no expert...): https://www.ehlsolicitors.co.uk/certificate-compliance/

I would guess that, if there were a workaround, my solicitor would have suggested it by now. They have been pretty good so far all considered. It's not clear who's not pulling their weight here in this endless chain of intermediaries. Someone clearly isn't

Tiglet2

Could you ask your solicitor to draft the Certificate of Compliance? They then send it to the seller's solicitor for approval, then you sign it in front of a witness and then it can be submitted to the land registry on completion. There will be a fee for this and your solicitor may also charge you for their work. But if the seller's solicitor has agreed to deal with any requisitions from Land Registry, that should put the ball firmly in their court should land registry not remove the restriction.

Notices of Transfers are typically done after completion - basically advising the landlord/management company that there is a new owner and a new charge. Your solicitor should do this, though again there might be a fee for the landlord/management company to "receipt" the notice (i.e. stamp it with their official mark).

Great that they have agreed the retention - it may be for planned works or works which have done but not yet billed for. If the works were done during the owner's occupation then it is right that they pay for it, so that when the bill is produced, you have the funds to pay it. If it is for planned works then it's a win win for you.

PassingOutInTheParade

Do you have 'hard' proof that the Probate has been granted?
You can check on the Govt website for £10. This will give you the names and addresses of the executors.

I ask because my vendor was delaying and delaying, took 4 months for their solicitor to send out the contract pack. Now they are reluctant to answer enquiries.

Seems they still haven't even applied for Probate yet!

tiny_jackal

Tiglet2, that's correct. The vendor's solicitor has agreed to deal with the restriction, but they are taking ages. That particular enquiry has been outstanding since exactly one month (before that, they hadn't even agreed to deal with it). The retention is for works that had been announced by a stage 1 notification.
PassingOutInTheParade, all the sale documents mention the probate granted on the 20th of June 2017. Do you think there's a chance it may be untrue? :-o
4 months?! Oh dear Had I known it was such a hoop-jumping exercise, I definitely, definitely would have stayed clear of probate properties. Also, the fact that there's a probate company and not a person as vendor, doesn't help speed up things.