Buying my first flat has turned into a nightmare. Am I making a big mistake with a leasehold?

PartyOfFive

Don’t engage with Sarah1Mitty2.
Notorious troll on this board and constantly hijacks threads like these.
Mods should really do something about this.

Jonboy_1984

dills18 said:

I have had an email from my solicitor this morning in regards to the Deed Of Covenant document that the management company needs to issue. She has now put the £300 upfront cost on to me, despite writing an email earlier in the month that this cost would be paid by the sellers. Another annoyance- I’m told one thing, then another. Should this be contested? If I knew it was I who would pay this I would have months ago to speed things up!

It does normally fall on the buyer as it is moving the interest in the property into the buyers name. When we sold our flat last year we had to make an undertaking which meant we had to pay it upfront early in the process as the seller, and then the buyer reimbursed us as part of the completion. 

This meant we were on the hook for the amount (over £700 with a couple of other similar bits for our sale) if the sale fell through, and that maybe why your seller refused to pay in the first instance.

Tiglet2

dills18 said:

I am so surprised at how long this process has taken, with no end in sight. I knew flats and leaseholds in general take longer to complete but surely 27-weeks is a very bad case.


The flat purchase is not progressing because the head-lessor of the flats, a management company, have not yet issued a 'Deed of Covenant'. This has only just been brought up by my solicitor, whereas I feel this should have been brought up months ago considering this is where all time is being wasted- surely she should have known this? 



I have had an email from my solicitor this morning in regards to the Deed Of Covenant document that the management company needs to issue. She has now put the £300 upfront cost on to me, despite writing an email earlier in the month that this cost would be paid by the sellers. Another annoyance- I’m told one thing, then another. Should this be contested? If I knew it was I who would pay this I would have months ago to speed things up!


Dylan   

Sorry for your loss.

Just wanted to pick up on the above.  Your solicitor wouldn't know any details regarding the Management Company's requirements regarding a Deed of Covenant, until receiving the Management Pack and reviewing their requirements.  I know you've been stuck in the process for 27 weeks, but it is important to let you know that prior to receipt and review of this Management Pack, your solicitor wouldn't have been able to tell you that you needed a Deed of Covenant or the cost of providing it.

It is a cost expected to be met by the buyer if the Deed of Covenant is regarding you signing that you agree to abide by the restrictive covenants set out in the lease, because it is an agreement between you and the Management Company for when you become the new owner.  The seller doesn't need it.  I expect they also entered into a similar Deed of Covenant when they purchased.

27 weeks is quite a long time, but leaseholds on average take 6 months.  Yours is a bit longer, but not much.  All depends on how quickly the sellers provide paperwork and answers to enquiries.   I wouldn't consider your transaction "a nightmare or a very bad case", just merely that on leasehold transactions where there are more third parties, the wheels take a lot longer to go round and a lot of solicitors don't always manage their clients' expectations very well.  Your solicitor cannot force Management Companies to respond quickly, or even in a timely manner, so there is a lot of waiting around for responses.  The EA can try and push them, the solicitor can also send reminders, but chasing every day is a waste of everyone's efforts and time when a Management Company will respond when it suits them.