Solicitor refused to act, as the building is 5 storeys high

TBG01

Mike997 said:

Solarsystem24 said:

I never brought a flat, but I know from personal experience and what I read that the quality of the builds (and often these are refurbished office blocks) and subsequent maintenance of them have plummeted. There were some apartment buildings in the news which had to be torn down just after being built and people already were renting or brought flats. One building looked like the tower of pisa. I had to move out of a forth floor flat after just 3 weeks of it opening because of serious problems including sewage leaks, gaps between window frames, faulty electronics and windows not staying open, which they wouldn’t fix. It was advertised as a new build, but I discovered after moving in, it is a badly renovated tax office.

All these new apartment buildings are suddenly popping up as the government gives build to rent loans. A lot of charlatans and chancers take advantage, get a loan, keep most by cutting back on building (or often renovation of office buildings) and try to make the money back through rent and sales by appearing “boutique” and luxurious. It’s a massive scam and most of these apartments blocks won’t be here in 50 years. Sewage leakage is a common problem in many. So if lawyers refuse to deal with flats as they considered it high risk, maybe it’s a sign it’s also too risky for you.

 but that estate is over 20 years old and the quality back then was way better than now.

Grenfell tower was over 40 years old.

Halabala9

TBG01 said:

Mike997 said:

Solarsystem24 said:

I never brought a flat, but I know from personal experience and what I read that the quality of the builds (and often these are refurbished office blocks) and subsequent maintenance of them have plummeted. There were some apartment buildings in the news which had to be torn down just after being built and people already were renting or brought flats. One building looked like the tower of pisa. I had to move out of a forth floor flat after just 3 weeks of it opening because of serious problems including sewage leaks, gaps between window frames, faulty electronics and windows not staying open, which they wouldn’t fix. It was advertised as a new build, but I discovered after moving in, it is a badly renovated tax office.

All these new apartment buildings are suddenly popping up as the government gives build to rent loans. A lot of charlatans and chancers take advantage, get a loan, keep most by cutting back on building (or often renovation of office buildings) and try to make the money back through rent and sales by appearing “boutique” and luxurious. It’s a massive scam and most of these apartments blocks won’t be here in 50 years. Sewage leakage is a common problem in many. So if lawyers refuse to deal with flats as they considered it high risk, maybe it’s a sign it’s also too risky for you.

 but that estate is over 20 years old and the quality back then was way better than now.

Grenfell tower was over 40 years old.

Yeah, but that type of multi-storey buildings are dodgy. The one I am looking at has got EWS1 - A1 rating. We can't go into such extreme that every building with more than 2 floors will be a death trap. One accident in the entire country, and suddenly every block of appartments, that has been perfectly fine for half a century, is a death trap...

Section62

TBG01 said:

Mike997 said:

 but that estate is over 20 years old and the quality back then was way better than now.

Grenfell tower was over 40 years old.

The original building was, but the parts that performed badly in the fire were modern additions that were applied to refurbish the tower to modern tastes and expectations.

Mike997 said:

Yeah, but that type of multi-storey buildings are dodgy. The one I am looking at has got EWS1 - A1 rating. We can't go into such extreme that every building with more than 2 floors will be a death trap. One accident in the entire country, and suddenly every block of appartments, that has been perfectly fine for half a century, is a death trap...

Grenfell wasn't the only one.  There had been a series of previous fire events in tower blocks (in London and elsewhere) which is one of the reasons why the reaction to Grenfell was so strong.

Halabala9

3 other solicitors refused to take it, and the only one that can take it, will charge me £2500 for it. How nice.

NameUnavailable

Has it got a lift? I know a lot of lenders won't lend on block of 5 or more floors without a lift, but I am surprised I haven't heard of solicitors simply not touching sales of higher rise flats.

I guess the answer is to look for something else. You don't want to buy a flat that you might have trouble selling later on.

user1977

NameUnavailable said:

Has it got a lift? I know a lot of lenders won't lend on block of 5 or more floors without a lift, but I am surprised I haven't heard of solicitors simply not touching sales of higher rise flats.

The solicitors' concern won't be anything to do with lifts.

Honeylife

Mike997 said:

Hi Everyone,

My offer just got accepted, however the solicitor that I had lined up, just refused to act, as the building is 5 storeys high and they said they don’t take such buildings. What is the problem? It's a £150k leasehold (well over 900 years left), 2bed flat, CASH PURCHASE, the building has got EWS1 A1 certificate (apparently).

I am trying to find out what is going on. The estate seems perfectly fine, can’t see anything suspicious here. I will do a cash purchase, but want to make sure that this building is mortgage-able just in case. Apparently it has got EWS1 A1 certificate, so I thought that is all I need but what is the problem with it being 5 storeys? Does it mean I won’t get a mortgage if needed in the future?

Regards

This happened to my son.  My own "long-standing used for every legal thing", solicitors refused him on the same grounds of more than five floors.   They were kind enough to recommend another Solicitor, so he moved on.  Suggest you do the same.

Seiryaria

I'm selling my leasehold flat that sits in a 6 stories high building atm and when I got quotes from solicitors, while they charged more to deal with this matter, I didn't have anybody decline dealing with it. So I think it's really down to what solicitor you're contacting. The surcharge for them to deal with the matter in my case is 600 quid which I was quoted upfront. I don't know how much more it is on the buyers side of course. Most other quotes also incurred the same cost for that.

I'd suggest you try some others as well.

AskAsk

it's to do with the new building safety act 2022.  we were looking into extending our lease and our solicitor said that there is ambiguity with the wording of the act which means extended leases or new leases after october 2022 will not be protected from the costs of making the building safe for fire safety, like cladding and sprinkler systems.

this is expected to be rectified when the lease reform is completed, which is expected this year.  in the meantime, she says some conveyancers will not act for affected buildings as they do not know what to advise but some will agree to act.  a bit of a mess for everyone.

penners324

You could try Spain. Lot's of stories of dodgy lawyers, dodgy courts, dodgy planning departments.