Reply to: Solicitors What Are My Rights ?

[Ivor1]

Update, the place I was buying pulled out as it was taking to long and we could not give a date when we would know for sure the liciense would be returned I am so, so, so, so angry I want to go and visit the freeholder and rip his head of. My buyer is also concerned now

To top it off when I got home last night there was a letter from the freeholder asking for his £32 ground rent, its not due to be paid till June 24th, so he sent it to me one month in advance, and in the letter it asks me to 'pay as soon as possible' ! What a fecking joke, I am totally being shafted, I dont think Ive ever been this angry before, I am fumming. Its ok for him to ask me to send him £32 asap, but if pay £500 (which was well over the odd) for something from him he will just sit on it, and if my buyer pulls out I need to pay the freeholder £500 again.

Im going to see another solicitor next week to see what I can claim from the freeholder. I want to screw him over big time.

One thing I noticed was he runs his office under the name of 'xxxxx & Partners', I checked companies house and I cant see it registered, and there is no VAT number on his invoices to me. Should a Partnership be registered with companies house ? Im interested in any area I can **** him over on

[TheMonkey]

Solicitors without a doubt are the most useless people on the planet , high cost low output.

Most people would be out of work if they delivered the same level of service.

Yes I agree. I have successfully represented myself twice. Just learn to read people and legalese and you're on the right track.

[Bitbucket]

Solicitors without a doubt are the most useless people on the planet , high cost low output.

Most people would be out of work if they delivered the same level of service.

What are your rights? , Ha dont make me laugh , the only rights you have are to sack the useless twat and employ another equally useless one or to keep paying.

[OwlHoot]

alright, I'm sure you are going to beat me for this,

but what do you mean when you say...

"my freeholder made me pay £500 for a liciense to sell the place, it needs to be signed by me, my buyer and the freeholder",

Do you own the flat ? Then you are the freeholder ?

Confused from Germany.

Milan.

Milan, you aren't half a _muppet_ - go back to sleep!

To the OP - technically you need the freeholder's consent to sell, but legally they can't unreasonably withhold this, and a long delay could be construed as effectively withholding consent.

If this issue isn't sorted out very soon, I'd ask your solicitor to apply to the High Court for an order to appoint a new manager of the freehold. See thingie.

[Ivor1]

Naturally enough. Who's paying his fees? Not you, that's for sure. In fact if I were the freeholder I'd be hopping mad if my solicitor did anything other than show you the door. Client confidentiality and all that. Your beef is with the freeholder, not his solicitor.

Actually a requirement of my freeholder was 'I pay all his costs for regarding the liciense'. I didnt realise it would be such an issues, pretty sure its all going to fall through now both sale and purchase, leaving me near on £3k out of pocket after legal fees, surveys not to mention my own time. The freeholder has had since the 10th May to sign and return it, he must be doing it on purpose. I actually managed to talk to him late last night, he told me 'its been posted back but I dont know when that was'
What a *****, was so desperate told him my partner was 8 months pregnant and I was scared all this stress would put her into an early labour, what a *****. Once sorted Im tempted to suggest to the IR his tax affairs may not be in order

[Fungus]

A friend had a run in woth a soliciter, he tried the law society.

After the law society doing SFA except telling him to take legal action against the soliciter was that they are just an old boys club looking after their own.

Good luck

Law is a monopoly with goodness knows how much protectionism build-in. The whole edifice is built to provide an income for lawyers. The government surprisingly are trying to liberalise the market, and on the Today programme on R4 someone from the Law Society was talking about the need to protect consumers. My experience of solicitors is that they look after their own interests first, and milk us. We need protection from them.

A friend is paying £50,000+ fees to a solicitor for winding up an estate. I explained that he could have done most of the work himself. The solicitor charges £180 per hour for trivial work + 1% of the estate's value. The solicitor did not explain that he could do most of the work. My solicitor who dealt with my late mother's estate was very good, but it was still very basic work for £200 per hour. The only reason to use a third party was to protect me from allegations of fraud from my unleasant half brother and sister.

[Fungus]

I would have thought that your solicitor should sent a letter to the other solicitor stating that if the sale falls through because the other party does not return the letter within a reasonable time, and without a reasonable explanation that can be proved, then you will take legal action against the other party.

The other solicitor expects to deal with your solicitor, as you have engaged him to act on your behalf.

It seems to be an open and shut case of the leaseholder extorting money from you and there's nothing to stop him doing it again in future. It could of course just be incompetence or laziness. Which is why your solicitor must press the other solicitor. I think you have to show that you gave ample reminder.

The problem here, as I found when selling my late mother's property, is that the law is rather weak on such matters. The tulipe head knows that taking him to court will cost you a fortune, and you might lose. Hence in a sense he has you by the balls. My late mother's neighbours came round a few days after the funeral saying "Give us some land or you will not be able to sell the house due to a dispute".

[Spartacus]

Yes why in deed I asked the same question, but the freeholder has the right to ask for what he wants.

Surely not? In which case what's to stop him from asking for £5,000 or £50,000?

[Spartacus]

Apperently I have 'NO' right to expect my freeholders solicitor to reply WTF !

Naturally enough. Who's paying his fees? Not you, that's for sure. In fact if I were the freeholder I'd be hopping mad if my solicitor did anything other than show you the door. Client confidentiality and all that. Your beef is with the freeholder, not his solicitor.

[ASB]

notwithstanding Mrs Goof's goofy comments,

perhaps the lesson from all of this is to be only a freeholder
and not a leaseholder

doh

Milan.

Possibly. Apart from the fact that it is damn near impossible to arrange a mortgage on a freehold flat in England or Wales. This is because it is poor security for the lender because if the flats are freehold it is impossible to force any repairs etc that are required to be done. The leashold reform act has improved things, this introduces commonhold. It was also usual for the leaseholders to buy the freehold and set up a management company that they all owned one share in.


i.e. flats are generally leasehold for a very good reason. Some leases are crap though as the op is discovering.

[Ivor1]

Yes why in deed I asked the same question, but the freeholder has the right to ask for what he wants. He would only issue the liciense on these conditions. My solicitor said it was not on, but what choice do I have, the only cause of action I would of had was take him to a lease holders tribunal and then even if I win I would have to pay all costs, and still have to go to court to inforce the tribunal findings.

I bought lease hold as at the time I couldnt afford a house. I thought my freeholder would be a reasonable man, but it turns out he is well know locally as a ******* ar*e hole who needs a couple of good doses of my fists in his face

I just want it to go through then I will deal with him

[ALM]

Why would you be paying him £500 if there's no sale?

Yes. Why!!??

[Dundeegeorge]

A point

Yes I agree, but all my freeholder has to do is sign the form to say yes I can sell the flat, there is no financial gain for him at all apart from the £500 I paid. The only reason my freeholder would do this in my opionion is to make the sale fall through so he can charge me another £500. He is totally screwing me and the law seems to allow him to do that !!!!!!

Why would you be paying him £500 if there's no sale?

[milanbenes]

notwithstanding Mrs Goof's goofy comments,

perhaps the lesson from all of this is to be only a freeholder
and not a leaseholder

doh

Milan.

[MrsGoof]

alright, I'm sure you are going to beat me for this,

but what do you mean when you say...

"my freeholder made me pay £500 for a liciense to sell the place, it needs to be signed by me, my buyer and the freeholder",

Do you own the flat ? Then you are the freeholder ?

Confused from Germany.

Milan.

milan go climb your tree untill there's another tape to change.

Ivor appears to be a lease holder, in that he owns a timed lease on a flat that he is selling. THe Freeholder owns the building / ground the flat is on.