Not Moving

Yesterday was my birthday - 76 young👵

It wasn't what I expected. I withdrew from the purchase of a house in a retirement community after 4 months & spent all day dealing with the aftermath. After the morning chat with my lovely solicitor, which helped make the decision, phone calls, texts & emails all day long. Very sorry for my buyer, but I will proceed when I find somewhere to live & for the moment he is prepared to wait. I am very lucky. 

Because of the type of property it is, (leasehold), I didn't realise quite what a different ball game it is. I've always bought freehold. The set up of the retirement development was complex - 3 separate companies - C / Y T & C P. Communication was an issue, as was residents ability to have any say or control. The lease document was huge & written in a different language! There were also issues about negotiated changes to the lease itself, which only related to me personally & could well lead to sale problems down the line. The Plain English Campaign could have a field day on legal documents, including my Lease document. They certainly wouldn't give it a Crystal Mark!

http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/campaigning.html 

The whole set up was messy.

Moving house is a big deal. There is a lot of money involved, but more importantly you have to be happy & feel the property is right for you. It's a home, not an investment. You will never get a property that is perfect. You do always have to compromise on something. Generally you have to be prepared to do things to it after moving to make it really yours. I can cope with all of that.

What I can't cope with is the current way leasehold property works in the UK. It simply isn't fair to leaseholders. There has been a strong movement for years to change the law & the Government seem to have finally decided to do something about it.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-reforms-make-it-easier-and-cheaper-for-leaseholders-to-buy-their-homes

Add to that the whole situation around retirement developments & you have to have a certain type of personality to be happy with it. Generally speaking I imagine that many elderly people are relieved to hand over control to someone else & pay for the privilege. So I accept that I might be in the minority wanting to have a say & a measure of control.

I wish I'd realised all that 4 months ago!

So now I have to find somewhere to live - Quickly.