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Showing results for tags 'leasehold'.
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Hi This is my first post, I am a first time buyer. I have been trying to buy a leasehold flat since January, the development is a 6 floor building built in 2017, the searches have been completed, no issues were picked up and the lender is happy with the EW1S. We were supposed to complete a few weeks ago and the lender even sent the money, but on the day before we were supposed to exchange my solicitor said that the seller's team had mistakenly stated that the building was not relevant to new legislation introduced this year, and in their opinion the building was in definitely relevant and would require additional certificates from the management company. Since then we have been in a stalemate, with the management company disputing that they need to provide any more documentation, and my solicitors unwilling to complete. Meanwhile other flats are selling and exchanging, even with mortgages from lenders. The seller has now withdrawn from the deal. I thought about using another solicitor that I knew was familiar with the building, but they sent a reply back stating that they were currently not acting in purchases of leasehold properties in buildings over 3 storeys high, "due to the complexity and uncertainty of the Buildings Safety Act 2022" What am I missing, my gut is telling me to find another property, however I really like the development and other properties are being purchased with mortgages, is my solicitor too cautious? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance
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Hi there, I’d really appreciate some advice with this one. I’ve been about to exchange on a leasehold property for the last few weeks and a last minute problem has risen with the lease extension. The lease was 89 years and it’s been extended to 999 years however it hasn’t been registered as yet with the land registry, despite in being started a year ago. The process has been expedited but, despite indications otherwise from my solicitor, it looks as though it’ll go on beyond my current mortgage offer which runs out on Thursday(!). A new title number has been raised but it’s not been completely registered. The management company who own the freehold is made up of the owners of a set of nine properties of which this property is one of. A few of the properties got together to process this a while ago. The vendor, who does seem trustworthy, assured me there’s no risk to proceeding. They’ve said that all the legal documents prove that the lease extension has been submitted and paid for and will go through just not in time for the transaction. I’d be grateful for some advice here. Is it a problem that it’s still awaiting registration with the land registry? I’ve negotiated a good price on the property and I’d really want it to go through but don’t want to make a stupid mistake. Many thanks Paul
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Hi, we are trying to get a small flat to refurbish and rent. The leasehold is about 85 years. We would like to ask the current owner to either increase the time to more than 115 years or ideally, get a share of freeholders (the freeholder is the owner of the flat below). We are wondering if this is possible at all, and at what cost. Weather we negotiate this in the price. And if this is possible, how long should it take. Thanks for your advice
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Hi All, Has anyone purchased a property with a 'good lease title'? The property we are in the process of purchasing is in the NE and has has a 'good lease title'. Our solicitor seems quiet wary of this and has said this may cause issues for when we are refinancing or selling the property. The vendors solicitors have refused to upgrade the title to an 'absolute lease title' before purchase, we have been advised to get a legal indemnity insurance policy in the unlikely event there is a claim on our lease. Our broker on the other hand has said it shouldn't be an issue refinancing, so we are a bit perplexed. For info, this will be a cash purchase, carry out renovation works to convert to a 6 bed HMO and then refinance. The lease itself has about 800 years left on it. Thanks
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Hi. My Mother-in-law is a leaseholder of a maisonette and recently had her gas meter changed. After fitting, the engineer pressure tested the system and found a leak somewhere past the meter and within the property - capped gas supply on safety grounds. Boiler engineer was called out and confirmed it's not from there and as there's no other gas appliances (old gas fire decommissioned years ago) it's suspected the leak is under the concrete floor. My MIL raised a claim with the freeholders building insurance provider but they said they're not responsible for the pipes and to contact the gas supplier. Gas supplier say they're only responsible up to the meter - contact building insurance. I raised a new claim with the building insurance and this time they reject it because 'no damage has occurred to the property'. I'm contesting this and currently waiting on a reply..on the basis there has to be damage to the pipe otherwise it wouldn't be leaking. My question is, who is responsible for the gas pipes within a leasehold property? I believe they are within the fabric of the building and as such should be the freeholder's responsibility. Any comments or advice appreciated.
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Hi all, I have just received notice via the managing agent that the block of flats, for which I have 1 flat leasehold has been condemned by the fire authority for inadequate compartmentation. The notice given is a "Prohibition Notice - Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005: Article 31". Essentially the fabric of the building is a fire risk. If the building is condemned or financially unviable to rectify, do leaseholders have any rights to compensation from the freeholder or other body? If the land is sold for redevelopment, again, does the leaseholder have any rights to proceeds of sale? Thanks John -
Hello fellow property investors I am currently look at removing the kitching in a one bed flat and relocating it into the livivng space freeing up that room to create a second bedroom. The flat is big enough to have the kitchen in the living area and the floor plan is perfect. but the property is lease hold and i am dubious about how much restinace i will incounter to make such changes to the property. There will be no need to knock any walls down or any structural work to the flat but there will need to be re-routing of water and waste. does any one here have any experince on the matter or feed back it would be greatly appreciated. thanks Lee
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Hi all, I'm new on here and apologies if this is not the right forum to ask this question, but I could really do with some advice. I am in the process of selling my leasehold flat, and am near the final stages. Our buyer's solicitor has requested that I pay for an indemnity policy (costing £500) due to the issue of doubling ground rent. My solicitor has disputed this point since January, and raised the point that our ground rent does not double indefinitely and only up to £600 max, meaning to her that there is no need for this policy to be put in place in the first place. Our buyer's solicitor has refused to clarify this point, even though our solicitor has made a number of requests for her to do so. The indemnity policy option was submitted to the buyer's lender who have now said they would accept having one in place, and I am being asked to fund this even though to this day our solicitor cannot get an answer as to why it needs to be in place. Another identical flat to mine sold within the same building a month ago and did not need to have one of these in place. Is there anything that I can do, or is it normal practice for a solicitor to just ignore our solicitor's request for an explanation as to why one would be required? Thanks in advance
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Hi all, I have come across an HMO which is being leased to a social housing group. i would be buying the freehold as the lease has been sold at a premium for 999 years. there is a separate lease for 5 yrs which details the rent to be paid by the social housing group. i am not aware of any potential issues in this transaction, should i wish to buy it, can you let me know areas i should pay additional attention to? do i have the option of changing the tenant (social housing association) to some one else or am i locked into 1 tenant for as long as i decide to hold on to the property? many thanks in advance.
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Hi All, I own the leasehold on a flat owned by the council. The council are planning to carry out major works to the building in the near future, of which each privately owned flat (some are still rented as council homes) will have to pay their share of the total cost. Has anyone had any experience of this? My concern is the lack of control I have over what works are done and the most importantly the bill I will have to pay at the end of it. I've heard horror stories of these costs often racking up to tens of thousands and in one case last year £146k. My second question is, if I was to remortgage to pay for these costs, what LTV it is possible to remortgage to? I currently own 25% but if for example, it was possible to remortgage to 5% (unlikely I'm guessing), would that even be advisable? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks -
Hi, As a new investor I'm after some advice. My husband and I have bought a house for rental. We were unable to obtain a HMO license as there was a local limit in the area. However we have obtained full planning permission to convert the property into two flats. My husband is now working flat out to achieve this. Do we need to legally spilt the flats into two leaseholds with the freehold in a separate limited company? We are keen to avoid these costs but are concerned that even if the physical split complies with building regs, not legally splitting the property will break the HMO laws. Any advice would be gratefully received, Suzi -
Hi all! I am currently purchasing two flats, both freehold (one ground floor and one first floor flat). This purchase will mean I will own the whole building (there are only two flats in this house that has been converted around 10/15 years ago). I've been going through the dilemma of purchasing through an LTD or not and finally concluded that LTD was the way to go; however because I am a first time landlord and the two flats are freehold I (my broker) has struggled to find competitive interest only mortgages and consequently wipe out the benefits entirely (and some) of going the LTD route. So now am purchasing the flats in my own name. Can I own the freehold of the land that the two flats are situated on in my own name (self-assessment) and issue two leaseholds (one for each flat) and have these in my LTD? How do you issue a leasehold when you are freeholder? Many thanks in advance!
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Hi, need some advice. I own a 2 bedroom flat, with 94 years remaining on the lease. I have tentatively enquired to the freeholder to extend the lease and have been provided the attached document. I have never done this before, but taking a quick look through the attached, it suggests that i have to pay/commit an amount of money/time/effort upfront to get to a position of knowing how much it will actually cost me to extend the lease? .....and even then, it appears that i tell them what i think it should cost (based on a valuation report) and then the freeholder will decide if that sum is fair and whether or not to accept or negotiate my proposal? *Is that about the sum of it? *Does anyone have any experience of this? *Is their a calculation i can do beforehand to give me a rough idea of what it will cost? *Should i be looking to extend with 94 years left? *It states the lease extension would be for 90 years plus the unexpired term of the current lease - so would that make it a a 184 year lease (94 yrs unexpired plus the 90) if i do extend it? Many Thanks Lease Extension booklet.docx
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Hi All! So I hope someone can shed some light on this very new scenario that is being played out before my eyes. I own a leasehold flat and the freehold was recently sold on and we have a new Property Management agency that we are paying service charges and ground rent to. I just received a letter stating that I need permission from them to be subletting the property, and need to register my tenant for a fee of £130 and from what I can see another £65 each time they renew, which is every 6 months and thats even if nothing changes. As well as £130 for each new tenant in the future. This was not something charged by the previous freeholder/management agency so a little surprised by it. Has this happened to anyone else and if so, is there anything that can be done about it? Thanks in advance! Cheers Alex -
I am currently part exchanging my apartment with a developer in order to buy a house from them. They have stated they require a Deed of Variation to change the lease because of a similar issue. My ground rent is £250pa, which turns the 141 years left on the lease in to an AST lease. So they want me to pay for the change of the lease so that the ground rent falls in line with the 0.1% mark, making it £180pa. I have no idea if the freeholder will accept this, and if they don’t whether the developer will pull out of my PX? Any help would be appreciated! Dan
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https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/238071 10k signatures = govt must respond 100k signatures = debate in parliament -
Hi. I paid 6,783 to extend the leasehold on my flat (which I have tenanted / rented out). Can I deduct this from my flat income? If so then it would bring my earnings under the tax allowance per year - so hoping it's a yes. Thanks, Steve
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Hi, I am currently in the process of buying a leasehold property and have received the Property Information form from the seller's solicitors. Under the leasehold property information there have been a number of breaches (7 in fact) ranging from 2 years to 21 years ago. These breaches include 'laying a patio' and 'erected fence around the garden'. I appreciate these are not serious breaches however they are breaches nonetheless and I wondering if there would be any repercussions from the Freehold owner, or whether there is a time limit on such breaches to be acted upon? Should I be concerned? Any advice would be appreciated. Many thanks.
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Hi all, Looking for some advice as I don't seem to be able to get a clear answer from estate agent or potential conveyancers. I'm selling a property which has planning permission for the garden, as two 'lots' - the house as one, the land as one. I own both freehold and leasehold of the property, which is registered as one title at present. I'm selling the house to one party, and the land to another party. I understand I will need to split the title, but not how to do it, what it will cost, and if I need to sort that out before going ahead with the two transactions. Also I don't know if I'm selling as freehold or leasehold, and how that will work. (This came about because I bought as leasehold, 700-odd years, then had a heated debate with the freeholder over renting the property out, resulting in my decision to purchase the freehold from them and save the trouble. I'm not a strategic thinker.) Has anyone done something similar and can advise? I know it'll be more costly because of the two transactions involved, but I can't get an accurate figure at present because I don't know what the process is. Thanks
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Unexpected leasehold property
simonflynn43_hotmail_com posted a topic in General property discussion
I have just had the initial report back from my solicitor on a property I am in the process of purchasing. Unexpectedly the property is a leasehold (having previously been told it was freehold). There is around 850 years left on the lease. The property is a 2 up 2 down mid terrace, 2 bedroom in Greater Manchester. My initial thoughts/instinct is 'I don't want the property', mainly because I want to own the property/land outright and don't want any other parties involved which could cause problems later on down the line. I was hoping to let the property indefinitely, does anyone have any experience with leaseholds, and how it might affect me? -
Hi, Just wondering if anyone could give me any pointers / shed some light on a flat which has just became available. The flat is up for sale as a probate sale , it is not up at market yet but I know some of the details as the man was part of our cricket club. What I have been told is the estate agent has came around and valued this ground floor flat at around £100,000, this was before she realised it was a leasehold flat. It is not an external company who owns the freehold, each of the four flats in the block own a quarter each. I am unsure how long is left on the lease though. the flat is in need of a full refurbishment. my questions are: Is this an easier sale than a normal leasehold as I would be gaining a quarter of the freehold during sale? How am I able to find out how long is left on the leasehold for that flat? Is there any issues which I would need to look out for if the number of years left on the lease is lower than expected? Would how many years left on the lease be an issue if needed to extend as with owning a quarter of the freehold the flat you basically own the freehold on the flat in question? I am not so clued up on leasehold /freehold so if any of the above is incorrect please correct me and any information given would be appreciated. Thanks Joe Forrester -
Hi, Just wondering if anyone could give me any pointers / shed some light on a flat which has just became available. The flat is up for sale as a probate sale , it is not up at market yet but I know some of the details as the man was part of our cricket club. What I have been told is the estate agent has came around and valued this ground floor flat at around £100,000, this was before she realised it was a leasehold flat. It is not an external company who owns the freehold, each of the four flats in the block own a quarter each. I am unsure how long is left on the lease though. my questions are: Is this an easier sale than a normal leasehold as I would be gaining a quarter of the reehold during sale?
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Hi, Just wondering if anyone could give me any pointers / shed some light on a flat which has just became available. The flat is up for sale as a probate sale , it is not up at market yet but I know some of the details as the man was part of our cricket club. What I have been told is the estate agent has came around and valued this ground floor flat at around £100,000, this was before she realised it was a leasehold flat. It is not an external company who owns the freehold, each of the four flats in the block own a quarter each. I am unsure how long is left on the lease though. my questions are: Is this an easier sale than a normal leasehold as I would be gaining a quarter of the reehold during sale?
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Hi, Just wondering if anyone could give me any pointers / shed some light on a flat which has just became available. The flat is up for sale as a probate sale , it is not up at market yet but I know some of the details as the man was part of our cricket club. What I have been told is the estate agent has came around and valued this ground floor flat at around £100,000, this was before she realised it was a leasehold flat. It is not an external company who owns the freehold, each of the four flats in the block own a quarter each. I am unsure how long is left on the lease though. my questions are: Is this an easier sale than a normal leasehold as I would be gaining a quarter of the reehold during sale?
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Hello all. Me and my friend end have been in he process of buying a new build and nearly became victims of the recent spate of developers looking to charge £250 ground rent on the leasehold which doubles every 10 years. For anyone unaware of the problem with this have a quick read of this article from the guardian: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/money/2016/nov/05/ground-rent-scandal-engulfing-new-home-buyers-leasehold We have been advised by our solicitors to pull out of the deal but are of course hesitant because it is a great location and we are so far down the line. Has anyone any experience with this and can offer any advice? Has anyone managed to buy the freehold? How Much did that cost? Has anyone been able to re-negotiate the ground terms? Thanks very much for all your help! James
