Chain Free house - Solicitor issues

Becca_42

Hi
So we put our offer in, in July. Both ourselves (Husband and I) and the seller are chain free. The property is leasehold, yet 6 months down the line and we have not even exchange contract yet. I am going to complain once all this is done because the solicitors are rude and unhelpful and its caused so many tears and stress.

However my solicitors has emailed me on Friday with the below:
With regards to the issue of whether the lease was validly created or not, I have had to email the indemnity insurance provider and they have referred the point internally. To explain, in law, in order to create a valid lease there are certain basic terms that must be met. Exclusive possession is one and certainty of term is another.
The headlease was created in 2010 and the underlease for the developer in 2011 - has anyone else had this kind of issue. Surely if this was an issue the house would not be on its current 2nd owner.

There is also apparently issues with the head lease plan - there is a bit that is private but our solicitors doesn't have the maps to show this and they want extra to go find the maps.

Does anyone know if there is anything I can do?

davidmcn

I don't think there's enough detail in your post for us to advise. What is the indemnity insurance for? Why is there concern about possession/the term? What do you mean by "there is a bit that is private but our solicitors doesn't have the maps to show this"?

Becca_42

That's all i am being told by the solicitors. It's pretty poor communication on their side.

GDB2222

If the lease is defective, shouldn't you be pleased that your solicitor has spotted this? You seem to be shooting the messenger bringing the bad news.

It seems to me obvious that you either wait more or less patiently for this to be sorted out, or walk away. If it has taken 6 months, perhaps there is no good solution? In which case, leave it as the vendor's problem, not yours.

I don't know how much you are paying your solicitors, but sorting out a defective lease was probably not what they had in mind when they gave you a quote for the conveyancing. If you want them to explain everything in detail, that is perfectly reasonable, but it may involve considerably more in the way of fees.

SmashedAvacado

what should happen here is that the seller should be sorting it out at their cost.

Your solicitor has worked out the problem, the insurer is deciding whether they can insure the problem, and that will have a cost. The seller will be asked to pay that cost. Your solicitor will ask the lender whether they are happy with the insurance (which they ought to be). If the lenders are not happy then you should ask your solicitor about the risk that the insurance creates (because in effect the lenders should only be happy in circumstances where you are happy).

Tiglet2

How is July to November 6 months? OK, that's nit picking, but your transaction doesn't start until your solicitor received the draft contracts from your vendor's solicitor which might have been a few weeks after your offer was accepted.

Leasehold transactions take longer than freeholds and where there is a problem with the title, it will take even longer. Your solicitor seems to have done his job well as he has spotted this before you became the new owner. It is the seller's solicitor who needs to sort out the issue and therefore, there is nothing you can do to speed it up. As you are not in a chain, as long as you and the seller are committed to the sale/purchase, you will both have to be patient. If you can't be patient, then look for something else.

I actually think you are being harsh if you decide to complain about this. This is not your solicitors delaying, rather they have spotted an issue and they want the seller's solicitor to solve it, as they should. If they are being rude and uncommunicative, then that is a separate issue but tears and stress are not something they can help you with and maybe they should actively manage your expectations, particularly if you are phoning them regularly for updates. This will not be a quick fix.

AdrianC

Becca_42 wrote: »

So we put our offer in, in July. Both ourselves (Husband and I) and the seller are chain free. The property is leasehold, yet 6 months down the line

Four months.
July -> August (1) -> September (2) -> October (3) -> November (4).

and we have not even exchange contract yet. I am going to complain once all this is done because the solicitors are rude and unhelpful and its caused so many tears and stress.

Yet you haven't changed solicitor... Seems odd, if they're so incompetent.

However my solicitors has emailed me on Friday with the below:
With regards to the issue of whether the lease was validly created or not, I have had to email the indemnity insurance provider and they have referred the point internally. To explain, in law, in order to create a valid lease there are certain basic terms that must be met. Exclusive possession is one and certainty of term is another.
The headlease was created in 2010 and the underlease for the developer in 2011 - has anyone else had this kind of issue. Surely if this was an issue the house would not be on its current 2nd owner.

Hold on while I polish my crystal ball...

The original developer sale would very likely have been with the buyer using a developer-recommended solicitor. So that's one other buyer's solicitor who may have missed this. Perhaps they were the incompetent one...?

There is also apparently issues with the head lease plan - there is a bit that is private but our solicitors doesn't have the maps to show this and they want extra to go find the maps.

And...?

Does anyone know if there is anything I can do?

Wait. Or walk.

G_M

I agree with others. Your solicitor has done precisely what you are paying them to do, namely check the Title you are buying.

They have found that the Title is defective.They have correctly raised this with the seller (via their solicitor), and are waiting for it to be resolved.

They have also investigated the possibility of insurance which may be a way to protect you.

There is litle more they can actively do!

OK- communication is often not solicitors' strong point (especially the cheaper online warehouses etc who cut their costs to the bone) and this is a problem.

But they often take the view that contacting you to say "Still waiting for the other side - nothing has changed" is a waste of their time, and time=money.