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Mozalini
Posts: 3 Newbie
Hi everyone - hoping someone can shed some light (sorry for the essay).
I'm in the process of buying a shared ownership property, but we're 4 months down the line and there's still no sign of a moving date. Basically, everything that could have gone wrong, has gone wrong, but no one is accepting any responsibility and I'm the one left out of pocket.
1. I was misinformed from day one - I confirmed with the Estate Agent 3 times that the lease was 900 years. 2 months in, the solicitor got involved and told me it's actually a short lease with 85 years left. From what I've read, if it goes below 80 years it becomes harder to sell and/or I'll have to pay thousands to extend the lease. Estate Agent issued a non-heartfelt apology and basically said 'you either want to move in or you don't'.
2. Parking - from the moment I viewed the property I was told the parking outside was mine. Turns out two spaces right outside my kitchen window are public and not mine at all - again, found out by the solicitor 3 months in.
3. Boiler service - the boiler is dead old, which I knew, but I was told by my EA that the seller was going to service it before the exchange. I chased and I chased and was told the seller was let down by a couple of plumbers. I then got a letter through from my solicitor saying the seller would not be providing a boiler service. So my only assumption is that my EA was lying and hadn't confirmed it with the seller at all. This means I now have to pay for the service (on top of the ridiculous premium the seller has added to the price of the property).
4. The most important one - the mortgage! As far as I was aware, I'd secured a mortgage with Nationwide and it was all going through okay. Now, over 4 months in, Nationwide have retracted their offer because I'm paying a premium on the property. Apparently they don't offer mortgages on shared ownerships where there is a premium. I was never told this would be an issue, so I'm annoyed that I'm only finding out 4 months in. The Estate Agents have blamed my solicitor, saying it's their remit to relay this information to the lender, and my solicitor is blaming the Estate Agent, saying it should have been made clear in the initial application made by the mortgage broker as they (the solicitor) could only approach the lender once they'd received all the paperwork from the seller (which took month!).
Now I'm facing a mortgage with higher monthly repayments, the possibility of needing to pay out to extend the lease, to shell out for a boiler service and possible a new boiler - and all this IF I can actually find a new mortgage. I'm tearing my hair out a little and I feel like no one is taking responsibility.
I'm just fed up of being led a merry dance and told "Oh sorry about that..." and then being expected to just deal with it.
Do I have any rights at all to complain? (I daren't do anything yet because I don't want to jeopardise the process any further!) :mad:
I'm in the process of buying a shared ownership property, but we're 4 months down the line and there's still no sign of a moving date. Basically, everything that could have gone wrong, has gone wrong, but no one is accepting any responsibility and I'm the one left out of pocket.
1. I was misinformed from day one - I confirmed with the Estate Agent 3 times that the lease was 900 years. 2 months in, the solicitor got involved and told me it's actually a short lease with 85 years left. From what I've read, if it goes below 80 years it becomes harder to sell and/or I'll have to pay thousands to extend the lease. Estate Agent issued a non-heartfelt apology and basically said 'you either want to move in or you don't'.
2. Parking - from the moment I viewed the property I was told the parking outside was mine. Turns out two spaces right outside my kitchen window are public and not mine at all - again, found out by the solicitor 3 months in.
3. Boiler service - the boiler is dead old, which I knew, but I was told by my EA that the seller was going to service it before the exchange. I chased and I chased and was told the seller was let down by a couple of plumbers. I then got a letter through from my solicitor saying the seller would not be providing a boiler service. So my only assumption is that my EA was lying and hadn't confirmed it with the seller at all. This means I now have to pay for the service (on top of the ridiculous premium the seller has added to the price of the property).
4. The most important one - the mortgage! As far as I was aware, I'd secured a mortgage with Nationwide and it was all going through okay. Now, over 4 months in, Nationwide have retracted their offer because I'm paying a premium on the property. Apparently they don't offer mortgages on shared ownerships where there is a premium. I was never told this would be an issue, so I'm annoyed that I'm only finding out 4 months in. The Estate Agents have blamed my solicitor, saying it's their remit to relay this information to the lender, and my solicitor is blaming the Estate Agent, saying it should have been made clear in the initial application made by the mortgage broker as they (the solicitor) could only approach the lender once they'd received all the paperwork from the seller (which took month!).
Now I'm facing a mortgage with higher monthly repayments, the possibility of needing to pay out to extend the lease, to shell out for a boiler service and possible a new boiler - and all this IF I can actually find a new mortgage. I'm tearing my hair out a little and I feel like no one is taking responsibility.
I'm just fed up of being led a merry dance and told "Oh sorry about that..." and then being expected to just deal with it.
Do I have any rights at all to complain? (I daren't do anything yet because I don't want to jeopardise the process any further!) :mad:
0
Comments
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1 - no, this is why you employ a solicitor - to investigate the truthfulness (or otherwise) of the statements made by a salesman
2 - see 1, above
3 - you don't need a boiler service to buy this property. If you want one, you can pay for one. If you thought you were going to get one, and now find out you're not, you could walk away, or reduce your offer by the price of the service. The seller may or may not agree to this, jeopardising the sale. Up to you as to whether you're willing to lose the property for the sake of something which is entirely voluntary. My boiler wasn't new when I moved in 12 years ago, hasn't been serviced since and is still working fine.
4 - not sure either of them can be responsible for the seller being slow in providing information.
You can complain all you like, but whether it'll do you any good is debatable. If you're hoping for some compensation off the back of this complaint, maybe some agencies might chuck up to a couple of hundred quid your way as a "goodwill gesture" - basically paying you to shut up and go away, but on the whole, I suspect you're going to be disappointed.0 -
I figured that would be the case. How annoying. I'm very good at complaining until people give me something, so I'll probably just wait until the sale goes through and then moan until they do something about it.
The Estate Agent seems to be the root of all the issues here, giving me false information left right and centre. I just wish there was something I could do to call them out on it, because it doesn't seem fair to be able to lie to people and there be no repercussions. **walks away grumpily**0 -
I'd walk away more than grumpily - I'd just walk away“Isn't this enough? Just this world? Just this beautiful, complex
Wonderfully unfathomable, natural world” Tim Minchin0 -
Have you exchanged?
What have you comitted financially so far.
I'd be seriously considering walking away as in a few years time your looking at something unseable or at a loss.
Can you answer those 2 important questions.0 -
The Estate Agent seems to be the root of all the issues here, giving me false information left right and centre. I just wish there was something I could do to call them out on it, because it doesn't seem fair to be able to lie to people and there be no repercussions.
You might, in the future, have some opportunity to do this, although when I last looked at the thread the general consensus seemed to be that the proposal is unlikely to work as intended.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=58234560 -
Newsflash: EAs lie; it's their job.0
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Are you sure you still want to buy if the lease is that short?
I don't think complaints post purchase would amount would achieve anything. And they could easily say, you knew what you were buying, it was your decision.0 -
Why are you proceeding? You are paying a premium, but the value has dropped likely significantly since you agreed to buy - short lease, no parking etc.
I'd be walking away, a few k lost in fees versus a bigger loss if you carry on.
The parking would be the killer for me though - parking issues are often one of the biggest causes of stress.0 -
To be honest, considering the problems you are having, I'd be wondering if its worth buying this property. Sounds like it won't be an easy sell either when the time comes.
There must be better schemes around if you have to use shared ownership.0 -
Don't walk away. Run!0
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