Pulling out of sale

pinkteapot

SableCinder19 said:

Chandler85 said:

Well the estate agent won't get commission now, so of course they will try to persuade you.

They shouldn't be frosty, but they don't work for you and they might have had no idea that you were having issues, so were a little blindsided that you suddenly pulled out, no real excuse though.

The question is, despite it taking so long, if the only issue is the ground rent.  Then it seems like an odd choice to pull out "due to hassle" without knowing the answer.  Your next house might have another issue that drags out instead, vendors that drag their feet, anything.

If the ground rent came back and nothing could be changed, or your survey came back as the house needed loads of work then people see that a big issue.  4 months (especially including lockdown) is nothing.

Pulling out is totally your right though.

Sorry hassle maybe isn't the correct term. We just feel like at every stage we have been the ones chasing answers and paying fees and its has whole heatedly put us off the house. We paid the £50 as we wanted to know the price and were told it would take 14 days, its now double that and we haven't heard a peep. We agreed prior to paying the £50 that we would give them a month to come back with the price and decide, its been a month and no word from them. Its been a tough decision but we need to go with what feels right for us. 

Be warned that having to chase things is always part of the house-buying process so there’s a good chance you’ll be put off every house you try to buy. 

I can understand the frustration with the freeholder/management agent being slow to respond and the concern for future dealings with them. If however you’re in an area where your budget will only get you leasehold properties then be aware it sounds fairly normal. It gets a bit easier when you’re the owner and can chase people yourself (rather than you chasing your solicitor, who chases the vendor’s, who chases the freeholder or the vendor...). 

Just make sure you’re not letting frustration with the process sour your view of the house. It’s natural - I almost pulled us out of this house when the vendor did something horrible very late in the process - but now we’ve been in six months I’m so glad we went ahead. 

All that said, to your original question, if you’re certain then just be polite but firm with the EA, saying you’re sorry but you have withdrawn your offer and you’re no longer interested in that property regardless of any resolution to the ground rent issue. You are still very keen to buy and would love to hear about new properties they have come to the market. They *should* be professional about it. 

penners324

Sounds like the Vendor needs to pay for a Deed of Variation in agreement with the Freeholder to get the lease amended to more favourable ground rent clauses or their property will be unsellable.

SableCinder19

So, unsurprisingly, after we withdrew from the sale the freehold price cam through. Turns out its more than triple what we expected and our gut instinct made us have the right decision. Thanks all for your comments. 

eddddy

SableCinder19 said:

So, unsurprisingly, after we withdrew from the sale the freehold price cam through. 

TBH - That's unlikely to be the reason (the freeholder probably won't care whether you withdraw or not).

It's probably because you phoned the EA and so the EA got the problem sorted. Had you phoned the EA sooner, the EA might have got the problem sorted sooner.

Perhaps that's why the EA was annoyed - because you hadn't mentioned to her that there was a problem, and given her the opportunity to try to sort it out.

But if you've lost the enthusiasm for buying this house, I guess it's best to walk away.

pinkteapot

SableCinder19 said:

So, unsurprisingly, after we withdrew from the sale the freehold price cam through. Turns out its more than triple what we expected and our gut instinct made us have the right decision. Thanks all for your comments. 

Now that's definitely a good reason to pull out. 

SableCinder19

eddddy said:

SableCinder19 said:

So, unsurprisingly, after we withdrew from the sale the freehold price cam through. 

TBH - That's unlikely to be the reason (the freeholder probably won't care whether you withdraw or not).

It's probably because you phoned the EA and so the EA got the problem sorted. Had you phoned the EA sooner, the EA might have got the problem sorted sooner.

Perhaps that's why the EA was annoyed - because you hadn't mentioned to her that there was a problem, and given her the opportunity to try to sort it out.

But if you've lost the enthusiasm for buying this house, I guess it's best to walk away.

Funny you say that, we started discussions with the estate agent regarding the issue back on the 15th April. As I said I truly believed we tried everything to make it work! 

eddddy

SableCinder19 said:

Turns out its more than triple what we expected...

It's also worth bearing in mind that the first price a freeholder quotes can sometimes be a 'wild punt' and/or a test to see how desperate the leaseholder and buyer are.

Your options would have included one or more of the following:

• Going back with a much lower counter offer
• Negotiating down the price of the property, to compensate for the cost of the freehold
• Asking the seller to serve a statutory notice on the freeholder, that would allow you to compulsorily purchase  the freehold at a 'fair' price

I guess some people might have seen this as an opportunity to negotiate a good deal, but some people just want a quick and simple purchase.

AdrianC

SableCinder19 said:

Sorry hassle maybe isn't the correct term. We just feel like at every stage we have been the ones chasing answers and paying fees and its has whole heatedly put us off the house.

How can the EA being a bunch of muppets put you off the house...? Surely you just make a mental note not to use them when you sell...?

We paid the £50 as we wanted to know the price and were told it would take 14 days, its now double that and we haven't heard a peep. We agreed prior to paying the £50 that we would give them a month to come back with the price and decide, its been a month and no word from them.

So you agreed a month, and it's been... a month. OK. Well, yes, things are slow at the moment for fairly obvious reasons.

 With an informal leasehold extension or freehold sale, they can ask whatever figure they wish.

If you wait two years post-purchase, you can go through the formal procedure and get either a peppercorn-rent 90yr extension or buy the freehold for a price that's defined by a formula set in law.
Lease calculator - https://www.lease-advice.org/calculator/
Freehold calculator - https://www.freeholdcalculator.com/freehold_choose.php

 I also think you're getting confused when you say an arbitrary annual ground rent increase. Are you absolutely sure it's not inflationary?

eddddy

AdrianC said:
If you wait two years post-purchase, you can go through the formal procedure and get either a peppercorn-rent 90yr extension or buy the freehold for a price that's defined by a formula set in law. 

You don't have to wait 2 years, if the seller agrees to serve notice to start the process after exchange of contracts (assuming the seller has owned the property for at least 2 years).