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Mis-Sold Lease Hold Agreement???

suiyat`
suiyat` Posts: 25 Forumite
First Anniversary First Post
in House buying, renting & selling
Hello All

Bought a newbuild house 7 years ago, with a leasehold - £250 per year. not a problem at the time.

had big issues with the conveyancing, and the solicitors in question were awful, and we ended up going to the ombudsman to complain, and got compensation for poor service. They closed business shortly after.

So, this past January (2018) we received an invoice from the leaseholding company for a ground rent charge which was an increase of around 30% - to £325 per year.

Looked at my deeds, and it states within them after 7 years there will be an increase, and subsequent increases every 2 - 3 years. Fair enough.

My issue is that i cannot recollect this being brought up by our solicitor during one of our few meetings, other than the annual £250.

Due to the incompetence that they showed during the conveyancing, I would think this would have been missed out when reviewing the deeds.


Big question is, with my solicitor being closed for many years now, would i be able to either gain compensation for the missell, orbe reverted back to the original cost of ground rent?

Thanks for feedback upfront.
«1

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 35,242 Forumite
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    Even if compensation was owe, and it seems unlikely it would be, there is no one to pay it.

    And I can't see the leaseholder agreeing to freeze your ground rent for no reason.
  • Slithery
    Slithery Posts: 6,046 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Photogenic
    Surely you read the deeds before purchasing?
  • suiyat`
    suiyat` Posts: 25 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    'Surely you read the deeds before purchasing?'

    This is what we paid the Solicitor to do as it is their field of expertise - other wise we would not have needed the solicitors services. She went through them with us but we cannot recall her informing us of the increases from year 7.

    Based on the way the conveyancing went, i would not be surprised that this was overlooked by 'the expert' and not brought to our attention.
  • HappyHarry
    HappyHarry Posts: 1,572 Forumite
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    Deleted_User wrote: »
    Even if compensation was owe, and it seems unlikely it would be, there is no one to pay it.

    And I can't see the leaseholder agreeing to freeze your ground rent for no reason.

    ^^ This

    Do you think that you would you have turned down the property even if this clause was bought to your attention?
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser. Any comments I make here are intended for information / discussion only. Nothing I post here should be construed as advice. If you are looking for individual financial advice, please contact a local Independent Financial Adviser.
  • ACG
    ACG Posts: 23,713 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post I've helped Parliament
    Surely there is someone to pay it?
    If I gave bad advice and went out of business, we have a financial services compensation scheme, presumably there is something similar in the legal world.

    No idea if the OP has a leg to stand on or not, but you could maybe speak to the legal ombudsman in the first instance?
    I am a Mortgage Adviser
    You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 16,391 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
    ACG wrote: »
    Surely there is someone to pay it?

    Yep - I believe that they are required to have professional indemnity insurance.

    (If they didn't have insurance, and you have a valid claim, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has a compensation fund.)
  • takman
    takman Posts: 3,876 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    suiyat` wrote: »
    'Surely you read the deeds before purchasing?'

    This is what we paid the Solicitor to do as it is their field of expertise - other wise we would not have needed the solicitors services. She went through them with us but we cannot recall her informing us of the increases from year 7.

    Based on the way the conveyancing went, i would not be surprised that this was overlooked by 'the expert' and not brought to our attention.

    If they were so bad that you had to make a complaint about them why did you trust them so much that you didn't even read the lease yourself?.

    I can't believe people spend hundreds of thousands of pounds and don't even spend an hour or two reading the documents!.
  • Smi1er
    Smi1er Posts: 642 Forumite
    suiyat` wrote: »
    'Surely you read the deeds before purchasing?'

    This is what we paid the Solicitor to do as it is their field of expertise - other wise we would not have needed the solicitors services. She went through them with us but we cannot recall her informing us of the increases from year 7.

    Based on the way the conveyancing went, i would not be surprised that this was overlooked by 'the expert' and not brought to our attention.

    It's always someone else fault isn't it.

    I bought leasehold flat a few years back. Yes, I didn't fully understand all the legal jargon in the lease but I ensured I read it. Especially the section on ground rent. Then I re-read it.
  • Cakeguts
    Cakeguts Posts: 7,627 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Are you saying that you signed a piece of paper to say that you would buy a house and you didn't know what you were buying? Didn't you read what you were signing before you signed it?
  • Tom99
    Tom99 Posts: 5,371 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary
    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]A lease can easily be 50 pages long and you can bet the upward review will be buried on page 48. They are not that easy for the complete novice to read and I can understand that many buyers will rely on the summary produced by their solicitor, it is after all exactly what you are paying them for.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
    [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]However you are out of time to make a normal claim for professional negligence which must usually be started within 6 years of the negligence occurring.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]There is a get out however, if you can show that you could not reasonably have known about the negligence until a later date, you have 3 years from the date you became aware of the negligence to make a claim subject to an absolute limit of 15 years.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
    [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Would the average buyer have been expected to find out about the review clause through their own enquiries, if not then you will be within the time frame to make a claim but that is only the 1st step.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]You then have to show that not alerting you to the review was negligent. It is certainly an omission but whether is is negligence would be debatable.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
    [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]If you are within the timescale and think you have a claim the next hurdle is to find someone to take to court after all this time.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
    [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Many solicitors practice as part of a partnership and I do not know whether on dissolving the partnership they remain liable for negligence. If a sole practitioner was employed then you will have a name to go after, even if they are retired.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
    [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Solicitors are required to have professional indemnity insurance to cover claims for negligence and I suspect, like surveyors, they are required to keep run off insurance for 6 year when the cease business. Unfortunately you are out side that timescale but that itself would not prevent you making a claim.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The final thing to consider is the amount of your loss. You are paying an extra £75pa and if you valued that in perpetuity at 5% you get to a capital value of £1,500. However it might be argued that you would have paid the same price for the property even had you known about the review so you have not actually lost anything.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Since your loss, if any, is quite small and will be dealt with as a small claim, you are not going to be able to recover any legal or other fees you spend in pursuing the claim.[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The Solicitors Regulation Authority compensation fund would only come into play if the solicitor should have been insured but was not. I doubt there is a requirement to have insurance for claims 7 year old.[/FONT]
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