Estate agent refusing to give information on a leashold.

davidmcn

deadhandle said:

Thanks everyone.. some good tips here, but seems you all think it isnt reasonable to expect this. So maybe it is time to walk away.

Let's see what the EA does produce..

I'm not sure that walking away makes sense (unless you have other reason to), as the purchase of any other flat is likely to go the same way.

Tiglet2

deadhandle said:

Thanks everyone.. some good tips here, but seems you all think it isnt reasonable to expect this. So maybe it is time to walk away.

Let's see what the EA does produce..

It actually does annoy me that EA sales particulars are very vague on leasehold properties, so I do hope that in the future it will become necessary to publish detailed factual information regarding the lease terms.  It might also be prudent to ask the vendor to show the latest service charge statement for perusal.  As said previously, EAs are not legally trained so their advice cannot be relied upon.  The Property Ombudsman guidance for EAs is about marketing, not the legalese of the property - that is undertaken by solicitors.

hazyjo

davidmcn said:

deadhandle said:

Thanks everyone.. some good tips here, but seems you all think it isnt reasonable to expect this. So maybe it is time to walk away.

Let's see what the EA does produce..

I'm not sure that walking away makes sense (unless you have other reason to), as the purchase of any other flat is likely to go the same way.

Was going to say the same thing.

Could you afford to buy freehold elsewhere?

Mickey666

greatcrested said:

EAs are not conveyancers or lawyers. They basically know what their client, the seller, tells them.

Investiagtions into Title, and the legal details within or related to leases are for a lawyer - indeed if a legally unqualified  EA were to provide information that might later prove erroneous they would be in serious trouble, so I perfectly understand why they decline to do so.

While I agree that EAs are not conveyancers or lawyers it's also not a legal requirement for buyers to use a conveyancer or lawyer (though I would always advise it!), so where should a potential self-conveyancing buyer obtain such information?

I'm not surprised that the EA does not know or wish to find out the information the OP is after, though I don't understand why the OP cannot ask the seller directly.  If the seller doesn't wish to deal directly with the OP then it's reasonable for the EA to act as the middleman, passing questions to the seller and answers to the OP.  After all, even if the OP were to engage a solicitor, the seller would have to answer the same questions.

Perhaps the EA (and seller?) does not consider the OP to be a serious buyer and would prefer to see them appoint a solicitor as a sign of commitment?

SpiderLegs

Mickey666 said:

Perhaps the EA (and seller?) does not consider the OP to be a serious buyer and would prefer to see them appoint a solicitor as a sign of commitment?

Probably.
Perhaps they also see the OP to be a pain in the backside who will continually badger them for more and more info, repeatedly quote TPO guidelines and stamp their foot if they don’t get their own way.
Perhaps they don’t want the hassle.

NameUnavailable

I have just pulled out of a purchase as I was told by the agents that it was a shared freehold and (having made my own enquiries) I found that it wasn't. The agent told me I was wrong, so I asked them for confirmation before proceeding further. They called back after a while to say it wasn't a shared freehold but 'it's a very long lease'!!

I agree with the OP here. You're buying a lease, not a property, so you should be able to have relevant information provided before making an offer, otherwise you're basically buying blind and then paying a solicitor to ask the same questions.

I think a solution might be to provide your own details when they ask for the solicitors info for a memorandum of sale. Then ask the vendors solicitor for the information (before then instructing a solicitor and paying for searches/surveys etc).

I honestly don't know how any agent can value a leasehold property without knowing the lease length, ground rent and maintenance charges as a minimum (then there are leases which prohibit sub letting which is pretty important for any BTL buyers!).

Tiglet2

NameUnavailable said:

I have just pulled out of a purchase as I was told by the agents that it was a shared freehold and (having made my own enquiries) I found that it wasn't. The agent told me I was wrong, so I asked them for confirmation before proceeding further. They called back after a while to say it wasn't a shared freehold but 'it's a very long lease'!!

I agree with the OP here. You're buying a lease, not a property, so you should be able to have relevant information provided before making an offer, otherwise you're basically buying blind and then paying a solicitor to ask the same questions.

I think a solution might be to provide your own details when they ask for the solicitors info for a memorandum of sale. Then ask the vendors solicitor for the information (before then instructing a solicitor and paying for searches/surveys etc).

I honestly don't know how any agent can value a leasehold property without knowing the lease length, ground rent and maintenance charges as a minimum (then there are leases which prohibit sub letting which is pretty important for any BTL buyers!).

I don't think EAs really understand the differences to be honest.  

Falafels

NameUnavailable said:

I think a solution might be to provide your own details when they ask for the solicitors info for a memorandum of sale. Then ask the vendors solicitor for the information (before then instructing a solicitor and paying for searches/surveys etc). 

The vendor's solicitor is not allowed to be in direct contact with the buyer, and they will refuse to hand over the information. 

Tiglet2

Falafels said:

NameUnavailable said:

I think a solution might be to provide your own details when they ask for the solicitors info for a memorandum of sale. Then ask the vendors solicitor for the information (before then instructing a solicitor and paying for searches/surveys etc). 

The vendor's solicitor is not allowed to be in direct contact with the buyer, and they will refuse to hand over the information. 

Missed that bit!
However, the OP has been provided with the amounts involved for the service charges and the ground rent as well as the length remaining of the lease.  Once OP obtains a copy of the lease from Land Registry, there will be further information provided as to any onerous clauses with regard to ground rent.  The only points not covered will be how much service charges are likely to increase in the future, or whether there are any major works in the pipeline, but only the management company could answer that.  

NameUnavailable

Falafels said:

NameUnavailable said:

I think a solution might be to provide your own details when they ask for the solicitors info for a memorandum of sale. Then ask the vendors solicitor for the information (before then instructing a solicitor and paying for searches/surveys etc). 

The vendor's solicitor is not allowed to be in direct contact with the buyer, and they will refuse to hand over the information. 

What if you want to do your own conveyancing?