Challenging sale - no more advice required

watermelonspring

hazyjo said:

Putting it bluntly, most people buying leasehold with less than 85 years remaining will want an extension. Your lender or whoever may have said it's a problem with 70 years left, but that's as it'll likely be completely unmortgageable for most people by that time.

Yes, you should 100% have had the lease extended.

I am more than happy to extend the lease but I don’t think it should delay the sale at the very last minute. 

watermelonspring

bouicca21 said:

Could you clarify?  Is this a two stage process - step 1 agree to new lease in principle, step 2 discuss and digest contents?

As others have said it makes sense to extend an 85 year lease and to get rid of ground rent.  What else is on the table?  

As I understand it is, agree to new lease and then receive outstanding forms required to complete the sale. 

watermelonspring

As I am pretty much under duress, I have agreed to extend the lease. The other freeholder will not tell me what they want to add to the lease nor will they tell me when it will be sent to my solicitor for a review. 

So, the sale could essentially drag out for as long as they like. 

I wish I knew the motives of this person. 

AnotherJoe

watermelonspring said:

hazyjo said:

Putting it bluntly, most people buying leasehold with less than 85 years remaining will want an extension. Your lender or whoever may have said it's a problem with 70 years left, but that's as it'll likely be completely unmortgageable for most people by that time.

Yes, you should 100% have had the lease extended.

I am more than happy to extend the lease but I don’t think it should delay the sale at the very last minute. 

How about, they think you might renege on your agreement to extend the lease once youve bought it (given you said you didnt want to extend at the start), so want to make sure you do it before?

If you dontw ant to delay teh sale, how about stating thats the reason whya nd that you'd be happy to make it [art of the contract?

Though given you've started off with a dispute between each other even before you are in a relationship, cant see why you'd want to continue, nor why they would either.

AnotherJoe

watermelonspring said:

As I am pretty much under duress, I have agreed to extend the lease. The other freeholder will not tell me what they want to add to the lease nor will they tell me when it will be sent to my solicitor for a review. 

So, the sale could essentially drag out for as long as they like. 

I wish I knew the motives of this person. 

only just saw that? Why are you under duress? Cant you just buy something else?

watermelonspring

AnotherJoe said:

watermelonspring said:

hazyjo said:

Putting it bluntly, most people buying leasehold with less than 85 years remaining will want an extension. Your lender or whoever may have said it's a problem with 70 years left, but that's as it'll likely be completely unmortgageable for most people by that time.

Yes, you should 100% have had the lease extended.

I am more than happy to extend the lease but I don’t think it should delay the sale at the very last minute. 

How about, they think you might renege on your agreement to extend the lease once youve bought it (given you said you didnt want to extend at the start), so want to make sure you do it before?

If you dontw ant to delay teh sale, how about stating thats the reason whya nd that you'd be happy to make it [art of the contract?

Though given you've started off with a dispute between each other even before you are in a relationship, cant see why you'd want to continue, nor why they would either.

I have already stated the reason. I’m just not sure why I can’t be told about what the new terms of the lease are and why they’re not up for negotiation at all. 

watermelonspring

AnotherJoe said:

watermelonspring said:

As I am pretty much under duress, I have agreed to extend the lease. The other freeholder will not tell me what they want to add to the lease nor will they tell me when it will be sent to my solicitor for a review. 

So, the sale could essentially drag out for as long as they like. 

I wish I knew the motives of this person. 

only just saw that? Why are you under duress? Cant you just buy something else?

I’ll change my wording to under great pressure. 

watermelonspring

AnotherJoe said:

watermelonspring said:

hazyjo said:

Putting it bluntly, most people buying leasehold with less than 85 years remaining will want an extension. Your lender or whoever may have said it's a problem with 70 years left, but that's as it'll likely be completely unmortgageable for most people by that time.

Yes, you should 100% have had the lease extended.

I am more than happy to extend the lease but I don’t think it should delay the sale at the very last minute. 

How about, they think you might renege on your agreement to extend the lease once youve bought it (given you said you didnt want to extend at the start), so want to make sure you do it before?

If you dontw ant to delay teh sale, how about stating thats the reason whya nd that you'd be happy to make it [art of the contract?

Though given you've started off with a dispute between each other even before you are in a relationship, cant see why you'd want to continue, nor why they would either.

Apologies for another question. What contract would I add this into? Would it be a separate contract with this freeholder person? 

AlexMac

watermelonspring said:

I’ve read the lease. A lot of legal terms but all looks standard according to my legal team. The vendor isn’t really saying much at all on this, just leaving us to sort it out with the other freeholder. The freeholder wants to create a new lease and we are to approve it or pull out. 

I'm coming late to this but it seems as though subsequent to your post, above, you've decided to go with the new lease anyway, despite you resenting feeling bounced into this by the second freehold company member.  

So maybe you don't want more advice, but in your position I would have welcomed a lease extension and removal of archaic language as this is only likely to make the place easier to sell in a few years time; once past 80 years it gets unattractive to buyers.   I hope that you and your solicitor do get enough time to scrutinise the new lease however; your one would be remiss unless she or he report to you on its terms, and you don't want any dodgy bits slipped in (I once bough a flat with a newish lease; only when we sold did I notice that the lawyer who had drafted it had slipped in a requirement for him to be involved, at a fee of £50-£100 a pop, every time the flats sold on in perpetuity, even if he wasn't representig either buyer or seller. Pointless, but a nice little earner.  Less flippantly, and as either your prospective co-owner or his lawyer seem to be a right 4r5e, you'll want your guy to check the arrangements for service charges and how routine managemnt if financed and apportioned;  you want to ensure fair shares of communal stuff like future roof repairs, guttering, sewers, external decor and windows, etc, as these are generally held to be shared among the leasholders, even if the roof don't leak downstairs!

However, coming back to the point, and again in my view, it seems highly irregular that your seller is walking away from the problem; certainly if this is causing delay and even more so if this is costing money; either in legal fees, or (hopefully not) as a premium to extend?  If it is, I'd be expecting the seller to bear the costs or drop the price accordingly, as this expense wasn't expected when you made, and they accepted, your offer. 

I hope you still feel you're getting a good deal as this is an esentially good form of tenure. I've always had a strong preference for so-called "Shared Freeholds" and I've had three of them over the years.  I like 'em as they give you much more control than if you have an absentee freehoder and an inefficient or unaccountable Managing Agent. But then, I've always cultivated (and luckily, enjoyed) good relationships with my co-directors/ other members of the freehold Company.  You nned to sort out the power relationship with the 4r5e, especially if they are letting the flat out and don't live there?

Good luck 

pinkteapot

Am I the only one completely confused as to why OP is having to deal with this with the other freeholder, when the vendor still owns the place and should be dealing with their fellow freeholder? 

OP hasn’t even exchanged yet so could walk away so surely the vendor should be negotiating any changes to the lease.