Sale falling through - what shall we do with this complete turkey of a flat?

Crashy_Time

beanfarmer wrote: »

What's significant about it being on the top floor apart from taking longer to walk up the stairs or take the lift?

You get free heat from the neighbours below.

Davesnave

Crashy_Time wrote: »

You get free heat from the neighbours below.

Yes, and the smells, if they make any!

ginger_chocolate

As a matter of interest, when your partner purchased, this property, did his solicitor cover the problems that could arise regarding maintenance?

He can't remember, although he doesn't think so, by his own admission he was very young, naive and possibly a bit over-eager to get on the ladder. They did point out the shortish lease, but he assumed at that point that he would only stay for a few years before selling up and didn't imagine it would become a problem.

Let this be a warning to first time buyers to be a bit more savvy....

ginger_chocolate

Was this a communal door? If so, what or who's insurance paid for it? If there is insurance for communal areas such as entrances, roof, hallways.... then there must be some form of communal payment accounting for this...

Yes, we all pay a share of buildings insurance to the freeholder, who pays for an insurance policy on the building which covers criminal damage, storm damage, fire etc, but not wear and tear, regular maintenance, or cosmetic upkeep. As I understand it, several of the other flats actually refuse to pay the insurance bill, and I've seen the red letters about it in the recycling bin, but I don't know if any further action has been taken against them. Basically the whole building is a living experiment in what happens when nobody takes responsibility.

Crashy_Time

ginger_chocolate wrote: »

He can't remember, although he doesn't think so, by his own admission he was very young, naive and possibly a bit over-eager to get on the ladder. They did point out the shortish lease, but he assumed at that point that he would only stay for a few years before selling up and didn't imagine it would become a problem.

Let this be a warning to first time buyers to be a bit more savvy....

Judging by transaction figures many are indeed waking up

ginger_chocolate

Just a practical question - with the sale falling through and the property going back on the market tomorrow, what's the next step? I'm guessing we inform the vendor of the place we're buying via their agent. Do I also need to inform our solicitors for the purchase of the change in circumstances (we have different solicitors dealing with the sale of our flat and the purchase of the new one)? Do we go ahead and apply for the 85% mortgage now so we can proceed quickly with the purchase, or do we wait to see if the turkey flat sells before doing anything about the mortgage application? The logistics of this are doing my head in!

ProDave

beanfarmer wrote: »

What's significant about it being on the top floor apart from taking longer to walk up the stairs or take the lift?

The issue with this flat is no formal agreement to share the cost of repairs.

If it was a mid or ground floor flat, that might not be too worrying. But if a top floor (as it appears this is) and the roof starts leaking, YOU will be the one suffering most, and you will be trying to persuade the others to stump up their share of the repair costs, and might just get the answer "no problem here, I am not paying"

Crashy_Time

Just be glad you didn`t buy more than one.


https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/landlady-in-hot-water-as-judge-forces-her-to-reveal-wealth-in-boiler-row-193219/


Contrary to the belief on the debate forum that this portfolio had sold "for a fortune" it looks like the peak selling point for BTL, or at least large portfolios has been missed by some?