Offer accepted, so why is estate agent not responding?

Boof2500

I had an offer accepted on a property a couple of months ago. It is a 'half-house' leasehold; the freeholder owns the whole property and is splitting it into two leaseholds - one upstairs and one downstairs. It is physically split already, and the owner has been renting both flats out.

I arranged a mortgage valuation for a few weeks after the offer was accepted. The estate agent failed to turn up. I rearranged it, and it went ahead.

The mortgage valuer attended this second visit and found no issue of note with the property. However the freeholder has not yet obtained a title deed or provided a draft lease on the half of the property they are trying to sell. This meant the mortgage valuer was unable to approve my application.

The estate agent told me the owner was now consulting with their solicitor to find a solution to this. This was six weeks ago. The estate agent is now refusing to give any update or more information, takes my number but doesn't return my call.

Do I just assume the vendor has bailed (in which case why would the EA not just say so); or that the EA is useless (but then they're missing out on a sale); or is there another explanation?

I have basically resolved myself that I won't be able to buy the property now, but it's driving me mad not having a firm answer.

[Deleted User]

Boof2500 said:

Do I just assume the vendor has bailed (in which case why would the EA not just say so); or that the EA is useless (but then they're missing out on a sale); or is there another explanation?

It's 3). The vendor has not yet made any progress.

Tiglet2

Boof2500 said:

I had an offer accepted on a property a couple of months ago. It is a 'half-house' leasehold; the freeholder owns the whole property and is splitting it into two leaseholds - one upstairs and one downstairs. It is physically split already, and the owner has been renting both flats out.

If the freeholder is splitting it into two leaseholds, it sounds as though he has not completed the legal process, creating the new leases and leasehold titles to be registered at Land Registry.  

I arranged a mortgage valuation for a few weeks after the offer was accepted. The estate agent failed to turn up. I rearranged it, and it went ahead.

The mortgage valuer attended this second visit and found no issue of note with the property. However the freeholder has not yet obtained a title deed or provided a draft lease on the half of the property they are trying to sell. This meant the mortgage valuer was unable to approve my application.

I think that confirms that this property is still in the middle of the legal process

The estate agent told me the owner was now consulting with their solicitor to find a solution to this. This was six weeks ago. The estate agent is now refusing to give any update or more information, takes my number but doesn't return my call.

The freeholder's solicitor is presumably dealing with the legal process, which can take a long time (months even).

Do I just assume the vendor has bailed (in which case why would the EA not just say so); or that the EA is useless (but then they're missing out on a sale); or is there another explanation?

Changing from a freehold property is more than just physically splitting it.  It also needs new leases to be drafted, approved (your solicitor would need to check all the covenants and clauses to ensure all the terms are acceptable to the lender) and signed by all parties and for the new lease to be registered at Land Registry, who will need to provide new leasehold titles.  Is it intended (for example) that you would become a joint freeholder, or is the current freeholder retaining the whole freehold?  It sounds as though the freeholder has jumped the gun a bit - the property is not ready to be sold yet.

I have basically resolved myself that I won't be able to buy the property now, but it's driving me mad not having a firm answer.

This is probably way out of the EAs comfort zone.  The conveyancing has now passed to the legal experts.  You need to speak to your solicitor, or the vendor to speak to his solicitor or continue to push the EA for an update, but don't expect the EA to know the legal implications of this.

eddddy

Boof2500 said:

The estate agent is now refusing to give any update or more information, takes my number but doesn't return my call.

Do I just assume the vendor has bailed (in which case why would the EA not just say so); or that the EA is useless (but then they're missing out on a sale); or is there another explanation?

I guess the EA isn't getting any info from the vendor, so the EA has no info to pass on.  In which case, the EA is probably just as frustrated as you are.


I don't know what your relationship is like with the EA, but if you try to get on 'friendly terms', they might tell you a bit more 'off the record' info about what's happening with their client. (If you're confrontational with the EA, they're likely to tell you less.)