We recently acted for the purchaser of a flat in Birmingham. He was a first time buyer who was interested in buying a flat at auction and was having a problem in arranging a mortgage. He was not prepared to bid unless the mortgage funding was in place. The auction was due to take place less than two weeks later time so required our assistance.
Due to our contacts with local mortgage lenders we were able to advise the client that a national bank based in Banbury was prepared to lend to first time buyers at favourable rates. We arranged for their mortgage consultant to ring the client and they were able to offer him a mortgage, subject only to a valuation of the flat that was quickly organised.
The client sent the Auction Pack less than three days before the auction. It ran to over 120 pages and careful consideration of it revealed two major problems with the flat – namely that the landlord had recently gone into liquidation, and there were extensive arrears of service charges.
Telephone calls to the liquidator confirmed that the freehold interest was about to be transferred to the management company, run by all of the tenants in the building and which was still trading. Once the transfer was completed they would assume the former landlord’s responsibilities under the lease. Further telephone calls to the seller’s solicitor resulted in an undertaking that the arrears of service charges would be paid from the sale proceeds.
Having resolved both problems we were able to reassure the client that he could safely bid for the flat he hoped to purchase.
His bid was successful and he is now the proud owner of his first property.
