Adventures of a Non-Binary Author: Spanner in the Works
It was all supposed to be so simple. Partner coming to live with me in my flat, until my mortgage was up for renewal. Putting the flat on the market. Selling. Buying somewhere we could start our family together. Only selling the flat took much longer than we expected,.And all the properties we liked kept slipping through our fingers. Still, eventually, we got that offer in. Within days our offer was accepted on our then top contender. It should have been so simple after that. But the path to happiness never does run smoothly.
The selling process is easy. We have very few enquiries. All the ones we do have, we satisfy quickly. The purchasing side… not so simple. There are two major sticking points. The Fire Risk Assessment is from seven years ago. Not illegal, but also doesn’t look good to a lender. The management company say they’ll get a new one done after the purchase is complete. Our solicitor could work with that. Lender will trust the judgement of the solicitor on such things. Only there’s another problem. A bigger, unforseen one. One that’s about to unravel months of waiting.
Does the building fall under the Building Safety Act for high risk buildings? Should be a straightforward yes or no, shouldn’t it? Our solicitor’s risk assessment team decide the building does in fact fall under the guidance. We’re a few months in at this point, and the call means an addition to our final bill. But it’s okay, right? Just more paperwork needed, and everything should continue as is. But the sellers’ say the building is exempt. They give vague reasons. Then get annoyed when they’re ‘asked the same questions over and over again‘. Their answers have not satisfied the enquiry. The risk assessment team needs clear evidence that it is exempt.
This goes on for a while. The deadline on our mortgage offer is quickly approaching. The sellers can’t afford to keep the property empty much longer. Our solicitor figure maybe he should test the waters. See if the lender will be okay with these two points unresolved. That’s when it’s discovered the lender has strict rules for BSA buildings. Our solicitor doesn’t meet their criteria. It will be a rejection if he tries anything now. But with the seven-year-old FRA we would struggle to get completion with any lender. We need a resolution. Either the sellers’ solicitor satisfies 100% the property is exempt from the BSA. Or the management company needs to update their FRA now!
Well the second is out. The management company won’t change their position. There’s no room in the budget for it ahead of March. The sellers are getting twitchy. We now have a week to resolve the BSA issue. Their solicitor makes a valiant effort. Unfortunately it’s thwarted by a 2022 amendment. They’re informed of this on the Wednesday. They know we’re on a tight deadline, but they don’t check their emails till Friday. They’re reaching for straws now. And by Monday evening, that’s it. The property has slipped through our fingers.
But we’re so close to the end with the sale. And, once we have sold, we can always find somewhere else. We’ll know exactly how much we can afford. No more guesses. We can take our time too. Save up a little more. Maybe get somewhere that’s freehold. We don’t want the hassle we’ve just been through again. So the race is on. We need a rental. But the rental market is a very different place to five years ago.
Can’t give up hope. Must be prepared to make compromises. We will find something. We have to…
To be continues…
