Would you believe it!
The owners of the bungalow I was right ready to buy took some sort of Equity Release thing on it as well as a mortgage and this can't be sorted until April at the earliest.
I agreed to buy it in November and they've left it until now to drop that news to the solicitors.
In the morning I was told to sort out a completion date with the removal company and in the afternoon....... BOOM it all goes wrong!
The young couple are ready and need to move in here ASAP to avoid the return of stamp duty.
So......................I'm looking for something to rent, which I really didn't want to do as it means unpacking and packing boxes twice unless I can find a holiday let and some places aren't allowing that due to Covid ban on holidays and risking losing their licence. There's not much around to rent anyway which is difficult.
I know nothing about Equity Release except what I've seen on the TV adverts so no idea how long it will take to sort out and I'm wondering if it would be better to pull out of the purchase and wait for something else to turn up.
All jolly good fun......................NOT!
What a nightmare I hope it gets sorted out soon.
ReplyDeleteOh, no! What a mess, and why did they wait until now? I hope you can find a solution quickly. xx
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, I did an equity release many years ago after my beloved died as we had a large mortgage and life insurance didn't cover the balance. I knew with retirement coming up I would not afford the mortgage so it worked for me. Plus I had no family to leave property too either.
ReplyDeleteA few years later I decided to move to smaller house and garden.
The process was easy , the L and G equity providers just required a survey of the new property and did what they called a porting of the equity from one property to another.
It was worry free and the process took around 7 days to survey and get approval.
Don't despair but do insist your new home sellers are now more honest with their legal adviser. I am surprised they didn't check that there was no loan secured on the property before they started the legal paperwork.
Good luck. Sandra.
The equity release thing should not hold up the sale; at the end of the day it is a rubber stamp job for the equity release company to approve the sale of the bungalow and I am sure they have had ample time to do that. Your solicitor may have only just been told but it is my guess it is not the first the equity release co. have heard about it. I would instruct your solicitor to say that unless the sellers pull their finger out you are pulling out of the purchase.
ReplyDeleteThat’s annoying. Wonder whether they have only just done it or were trying to keep quiet about it.
ReplyDeleteOh dear Sue, I have no experience of any of this so can't say anything useful other than I hope it gets sorted for you very soon. xx
ReplyDeleteOh, I hope you get it sorted out sooner rather than later. It's so annoying when these things come to light so late in the day, if they were known about sooner they could be dealt with right at the start instead of holding everything up. I hope things move along quickly for you.
ReplyDeleteI hope you can get something sorted. I don't understand the English property market but am amazed your solicitor didn't know about this. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThese things happen and you'd already said you would be prepared to rent somewhere. A holiday property can easily be rented by having a "short term let" and that will mean the property owner won't lose their licence. We have let our holiday cottage out on a short term let to a construction worker who needs to stay in the area for work and he's been there for four months now. It was quite simple to set up. You may find that it would be better to enquire to private holiday cottage owners rather than the big holiday letting companies.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear this, and as someone who went through the nightmare you are currently living through I really do understand. I moved in with family and stored all my things, which cost me a lot of money as I didn't want to lose the sale...but looking back I should have been a little firmer with everybody and stood my ground...I have no wise words for you sadly other than you will get there in the end and finally be settled in a new home.
ReplyDeleteOh, how absolutely infuriating especially after them hassling you over questions that had been answered repeatedly.
ReplyDeleteThis should show up on the title documents as a loan secured on the property so I can't imagine why your solicitor wouldn't know about it and why the seller's solicitor hasn't been doing something about it. Anyway it is just arranging for a discharge of a charge so there is no way it should take until April. Time for some pressure. At the very least if you have to rent then ask for a contribution to the cost of that and having to pay two removals.
Hopefully, from the previous comnents, this should not prove to be too big a problem for you, but stressful enough I imagine.
ReplyDeleteMoving house is not for wimps.
Oh poor you Sue! I wonder why it has to be so complicated to buy and sell a house in the UK - here in Sweden it is as easy as pie - all done and dusted in usually about 4-5 weeks. Sorry guess that doesnt help . Hope things improve for you.
ReplyDeleteOh no! Why did they not say anything earlier? I hope they can get it sorted sooner than April!
ReplyDeleteThinking of you Sue"
ReplyDeleteHazel c uk 🌈🌈🌈
How frustrating and what a worry! Are there any AirBnB's in the area? Negotiating a short term let would likely be welcomed by owners, and at a discount too.
ReplyDeleteI hope the resolution surprises us all with its speed, just as Anon says above (great to hear their experience on the other side!).
Oh Sue, I'm so sorry! Moving is stressful enough without this. It's outrageous that you weren't told before about the equity release problem. I do hope it gets sorted soon. Grrr! Don't you hate buyers sometimes?
ReplyDeleteSorry, that should have been sellers. When I moved, it was the buyers who created problems and slowed everything down.
DeleteOh, Sue, that stinks!! Hopefully, it will work out as other have indicated. Fingers very firmly crossed. You must be pretty cross about this development.
ReplyDeleteSending love. xx
I think air b&b's might be able to rent out space as moving can be classed as exemption and possibly you might be able to rent something. It's worth a try rather than have to start all over again.
ReplyDeleteI agree with previous comments. The equity release should have been declared and shown at an early stage. Fingers crossed for you Sue.
In my experience moving house is a headache from beginning to end. There are a couple of comments above who have been through similar experiences which should help you realise it isn't as bad as first thought. Surely this is what you are paying your solicitor to find out and they've had long enough.
ReplyDeleteConveyancing solicitors are a waste of space! They just take forever to do stuff. Seems like they take a perverse pleasure in stretching the process out for as long as possible. All you can do is chase, chase, chase.
ReplyDeleteConveyances are in the hands of others. They set things in motion then they wait. Wait for searches, wait for reports, wait for answers.
DeleteOr rather Conveyancers.
DeleteOh my gosh, but you have had a time with things on both ends of it. I'm sorry. I'd be very upset.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh Sue. How stressful for you. Fingers crossed it doesn't take too long.
ReplyDeleteI do hope you can get this resolved quickly. As others have said it shouldn't take anywhere near as long as they are suggesting so you should still be able to complete and move straight to your new home.
ReplyDeleteHow frustrating, I should think this was something that they should have been open about from the beginning. I do hope things are settled quickly so you can still move straight in.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Easy for me to say Sue - but try not to worry - something will be sorted in the end. Hope you find something to rentin the meantime. x
ReplyDeleteOh how very frustrating, Sue, but reading through the comments has left me feeling that you should stick with the bungalow if you really like it, just keep pushing for a result. Could you put your stuff into storage and try to get a short term let on a holiday cottage? It would save you having to unpack twice. Good luck. Sending hugs....
ReplyDeleteI'm really sorry to hear this, Sue. I hope you can get something sorted to suit all parties involved. X
ReplyDeleteOuch! Hopefully it's a bump that can be sorted sooner than you or your solicitor think.
ReplyDeleteDear Sue,
ReplyDeleteHave courage. from our experiences in the past, we should think that this will soon be sorted out. It is such a pity that not everything was made clear at the start since this just delays everything.
But, where there is a will.... if everyone is still keen to finish the job, then all should be well. Keep calm, drink tea and keep the pressure on your solicitors to get the job done.
Not the news you wanted to hear I'm sure, but this would have shown up when the Land Registry searches were made (they show any mortgage on the property) so your solicitors should have known about this. Perhaps the vendors have taken out recent equity release to pay off the mortgage? Hope you can get round it anyway, even if it means a short term rent somewhere.
ReplyDeleteOh Sue, I am so sorry you are having to deal with all this! I hope a way can be found to work things out in the quickest possible manner. I know it has to be stressful but try to take time each day to relax and take care of yourself despite this!
ReplyDeleteHere in the United States, the process of buying/selling always includes a title search by a registered agency to make sure there are no liens or attachments to the property. I gather the duties of a purchase are handled a bit differently there, but a solicitor/lawyer by whatever designation should have pressed for that. We once bought a property where an heir of the late owner couldn't be located to receive a share of the proceeds--our purchase went ahead with the 'share' placed in an escrow account--quite the oddest 'closing' we'd experienced. I hope this can be sorted quickly for you--I daresay there's a chain of responsibility which has to be prodded.
ReplyDeleteHope it all gets sorted out quickly for you. Arilx
ReplyDeleteSomethings not right, surely there was a charge placed on the property by the equity company. That should have been highlighted the minute the deeds were called for. Someone isn't being completely straight with you. Get them to come up with a solution as you need to be out by thex31st March when the stamp duty holiday ends....are they prepared to pay it?
ReplyDeleteUnderstand your frustration, we had buyers drop out on us just over a year ago so we had to let the house we were buying go. We are still here which in hindsight isn't a bad thing as we are well isolated and have some land so we can get outside on our own terms.
ReplyDeleteHope a solution comes quickly for you. XXXXX
Oh Sue. I am sure this can be sorted quickly. Solicitors awful. xxx
ReplyDeleteOMG ! Sounds like someone isn't being truthful, either your solicitor didn't do correct searches or overlooked results. Or maybe the sellers are stalling for whatever reason.
ReplyDeleteI would insist on seeing any search documents and instructing that you will pull out if not settled quickly....you got results with last ultimatum, it is really looking like more stalling....Why ? ?
Oh Sue!! #@*+@#@!! I've been saying things that cannot be written in a public place!! It's hard to know whether you have a dud lawyer, or the sellers are being naughty (a polite way of saying dishonest) but you must be steaming! I do hope someone who knows the English system can offer words of wisdom . Thinking of you. There's a Maori saying here "Kia kaha" - be strong.
ReplyDeleteOh no, Sue. What a headache. Hope it all sorts out okay. Mxx
ReplyDeleteOh Sue, this sounds dreadful. I'm so sorry I know little of the legal system there or if there is any way you can get compensation for the delay and your needing to let a spot for awhile. Perhaps if you explain your situation to a vacation rental person, they could allow you in because it certainly isn't a vacation, but a necessity. When my neighbors new owners had to move in before the neighbors had a new space (their deal fell through) they were able to load all their furniture and things onto a truck called a POD which is basically portable storage and it will stay there unless they rent a storage unit until they can find a new home. I hope there's something like that there so you don't have to unpack it all -- just the things you might need for a few months. All good wishes. I'm so sorry.
ReplyDelete