Maisonette Indemnity Insurance

[g***@googlemail.com]

Hi all

I am selling my ground floor maisonette (leasehold, upstairs also
being sold but not by me). I have been told by my solictor that I
have to pay £400 for two insurance policies - details from the
solicitor are given below. I think this is outrageous and would like
an independant viewpoint on it. What would you recommend I do about
it?
------

My sols response: I can confirm that the two policies the (buyer's)
solicitors have requested are a Maisonette Indemnity policy and a
Contingent Buildings Insurance policy.

The first has been requested as the solicitors feel that there is lack
of clarity in the Lease defining relevant obligations to each party,
also they feel that there is a Lack of enforcement action in the
Lease. The Second has been requested as again the solicitors feel that
there are not sufficient rights in the Lease to ensure that the
Ground, first and second floors are to be insured at all times. The
first policy costs £150.00 and the second costs £250.00.

Turning to your question of why is this now a requirement,
unfortunately I cannot explain why this was not picked up at the time
you purchased the property, obviously the solicitors now acting for
the buyer have checked all of the documentation received and feel that
the Lease does not have sufficient rights to cover their client once
they own the property. If you would like me to contact the solicitors
that acted for you when you purchased to ask why this was missed, I
can do this, however I will need their information from you and I do
not know how long they will take to respond.

I can confirm that the policies would be put in place upon completion
and will be in place for 25 years.

I have checked with the other companies that we use for Indemnity
Policies and this is the cheapest quote there is, other companies
charge around £270.00 per policy. Unfortunately I am unable to explain
why each company charges these amounts for the Indemnity Policies?

Finally, as you are selling this property it is for you to ensure that
the property is sold with clear title, as the solicitors do not feel
that sufficient rights are in place, unfortunately it falls to you to
rectify this problem it is not for your neighbours to deal with.

[steve robinson]

Post by g***@googlemail.com
Hi all
I am selling my ground floor maisonette (leasehold, upstairs also
being sold but not by me). I have been told by my solictor that I
have to pay £400 for two insurance policies - details from the
solicitor are given below. I think this is outrageous and would like
an independant viewpoint on it. What would you recommend I do about
it?
------
My sols response: I can confirm that the two policies the (buyer's)
solicitors have requested are a Maisonette Indemnity policy and a
Contingent Buildings Insurance policy.
The first has been requested as the solicitors feel that there is lack
of clarity in the Lease defining relevant obligations to each party,
also they feel that there is a Lack of enforcement action in the
Lease. The Second has been requested as again the solicitors feel that
there are not sufficient rights in the Lease to ensure that the
Ground, first and second floors are to be insured at all times. The
first policy costs £150.00 and the second costs £250.00.
Turning to your question of why is this now a requirement,
unfortunately I cannot explain why this was not picked up at the time
you purchased the property, obviously the solicitors now acting for
the buyer have checked all of the documentation received and feel that
the Lease does not have sufficient rights to cover their client once
they own the property. If you would like me to contact the solicitors
that acted for you when you purchased to ask why this was missed, I
can do this, however I will need their information from you and I do
not know how long they will take to respond.
I can confirm that the policies would be put in place upon completion
and will be in place for 25 years.
I have checked with the other companies that we use for Indemnity
Policies and this is the cheapest quote there is, other companies
charge around £270.00 per policy. Unfortunately I am unable to explain
why each company charges these amounts for the Indemnity Policies?
Finally, as you are selling this property it is for you to ensure that
the property is sold with clear title, as the solicitors do not feel
that sufficient rights are in place, unfortunately it falls to you to
rectify this problem it is not for your neighbours to deal with.

The purchasers solicitor is protecting is client , if the lease is
unclear , you may feel aggreieved but ultimatly you have the choice to
either pay or not pay for the policies , if you dont take out the
policies then you are likely to lose a sale , not something you want to
do at present ,

--

[PeteM]

Post by g***@googlemail.com
Hi all
I am selling my ground floor maisonette (leasehold, upstairs also
being sold but not by me). I have been told by my solictor that I
have to pay £400 for two insurance policies - details from the
solicitor are given below. I think this is outrageous and would like
an independant viewpoint on it. What would you recommend I do about
it?

It depends on the state of the market and how urgently you need to sell.
Essentially you have three choices: (i) tell the buyer that his
solicitor is making a fuss about nothing and that unless he drops the
matter you will put the property back on the market at a higher price;
(ii) cough up for the indemnity policies; (iii) offer to pay (say) 50%
of the cost of the indemnity policies. In the latter two cases you can
then try to recover your costs from the solicitor who acted for you when
you bought the property.

[Peter Crosland]

Post by g***@googlemail.com
Hi all
I am selling my ground floor maisonette (leasehold, upstairs also
being sold but not by me). I have been told by my solictor that I
have to pay £400 for two insurance policies - details from the
solicitor are given below. I think this is outrageous and would like
an independant viewpoint on it. What would you recommend I do about
it?
------
My sols response: I can confirm that the two policies the (buyer's)
solicitors have requested are a Maisonette Indemnity policy and a
Contingent Buildings Insurance policy.
The first has been requested as the solicitors feel that there is lack
of clarity in the Lease defining relevant obligations to each party,
also they feel that there is a Lack of enforcement action in the
Lease. The Second has been requested as again the solicitors feel that
there are not sufficient rights in the Lease to ensure that the
Ground, first and second floors are to be insured at all times. The
first policy costs £150.00 and the second costs £250.00.
Turning to your question of why is this now a requirement,
unfortunately I cannot explain why this was not picked up at the time
you purchased the property, obviously the solicitors now acting for
the buyer have checked all of the documentation received and feel that
the Lease does not have sufficient rights to cover their client once
they own the property. If you would like me to contact the solicitors
that acted for you when you purchased to ask why this was missed, I
can do this, however I will need their information from you and I do
not know how long they will take to respond.
I can confirm that the policies would be put in place upon completion
and will be in place for 25 years.
I have checked with the other companies that we use for Indemnity
Policies and this is the cheapest quote there is, other companies
charge around £270.00 per policy. Unfortunately I am unable to explain
why each company charges these amounts for the Indemnity Policies?
Finally, as you are selling this property it is for you to ensure that
the property is sold with clear title, as the solicitors do not feel
that sufficient rights are in place, unfortunately it falls to you to
rectify this problem it is not for your neighbours to deal with.

You really don't have any option but to pay. You could try and recover the
cost from the solicitor you dealt with before but that does depend on the
time scale.

Peter Crosland