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Comments
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It may be possible to convert the leasehold to a shared freehold?0
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Apparently, it is leasehold with 78 years left.
Well there go the alarm bells straight away.
Do you need a mortgage? 78 years left is round about, or approaching, the level that most lenders won't lend on (I believe). You would need to get the current owners to start the lease extension process before buying at the very least.
Then you have all the associated issues of having a freeholder -maintenance charges, management charges, restrictions on what you can and can't do inside...
This is all saying 'bargepole' and 'don't touch' to me...0 -
The EA says it is getting a lot of interest.
Do they always say that?
I have never heard an estate agent say otherwise. Every single house you ever view has "had a lot of interest" or "had some really positive viewings earlier today" etc etc.
EA = Lying dishonest scum.Mortgage debt - [STRIKE]£8,811.47 [/STRIKE] Paid off!0 -
EA = Lying dishonest scum.
Woah there, I've encountered some that certainly fit that description but they're not all like that.
Anyway, I agree with ET1976, especially as the lease has only 78 years left. Once a leasehold property gets under 80 years you need to pay what's known as marriage value to extend the lease again, making it rather expense. One property I looked at had a lease of 72 years left which would have cost £12,000 to renew! It does depend on the freeholder though, as to how much they will charge.
I wouldn't be surprised if the owner has just realised this and is trying to shift it onto someone else to be honest.0 -
It would have to be a VERY special maisonette. At the right price, with all the right features (location, garden, parking, garage, etc, etc) and good access, I'd consider it. But it's better to have a smaller place and be freehold imho. Maisonettes are just flats really.... you still have somebody either above you or below you... and a sense of being overlooked if you're out in any garden area.
I'd feel awkward about feeling that the space was "mine".0 -
Thanks everyone for your opinions, you certainly stirred some thoughts in my inexperienced FTB head.0
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I've lived in a few and I'd never buy one. Still haven't decided if it's worse to live on the ground floor or the second floor though. Either way it strongly increases the chance of a bad neighbour making your life unbearable.
I left the last one because it was impossible to get a nights sleep when the neighbours kids were allowed to run riot until the early hours of the morning.
The one I moved into had neighbours above that left a dog on it's own through out the night, so again no sleep. Eventually they moved out before I did.
If you live above someone you feel the need to tip toe all the time, you know the people below can hear everything you're doing. When I was in bed with a girlfriend it was difficult to enjoy yourself because you're very aware the neighbours are in bed right below you.
Now I'm renting a ground floor maisonette I have cardboard sticking in several doors to stop them rattling when someone walks through the flat above. If their washing machine or bathroom floods, then my kitchen or bathroom gets flooded too.
One of the worst thing about the place I live in is that the bathroom window looks out onto the yard belonging to the flat above. This makes using the toilet very awkward when the neighbours are in their yard.0 -
Apparently, it is leasehold with 78 years left.
That is either a deal-breaker or a bargain-waiting-to-happen depending how you look at it. Probably difficult to mortgage without the long lease being extended. Lease extension calculator here:
http://www.lease-advice.org/
I'd also suggest clicking the 'advice booklets' tab and reading a few of the articles so you understand the implications of leasehold. Others will tell you leasehold is a nightmare, IMO it's only likely to be a nightmare if you don't do your homework thoroughly.
If you go ahead you need the current owner to serve notice on the freeholder to extend the lease, you may as well ask for a price on the freehold whilst you are at it. The new owner will not get the right to extend the lease for two years after purchase, so you really need to do this at the same time as the conveyancing. If you can get the freehold of the entire property or share of freehold with the downstairs neighbour that is ideal as you are then in charge of any maintenance costs.
I'd want to know what the service charges are, whether there are any major works planned and what restrictive covenants are in the long lease (letting, pets, structural work are all common). The estate agent will probably try to tell you that your conveyancer will cover all that - he will but it will cost you. You want to know informally so you don't start throwing money at this place.
I'd also want to meet the downstairs neighbour and find out if there are any soundproofing issues or if he/ she is a nutter/ party animal/ unemployed alcoholic. I'd also be researching land registry sold prices and not simply for sale prices in the area - even after you have paid for the lease extension it should be cheaper than freehold properties of the same size.Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0 -
I've lived in a few and I'd never buy one. Still haven't decided if it's worse to live on the ground floor or the second floor though. Either way it strongly increases the chance of a bad neighbour making your life unbearable.
I left the last one because it was impossible to get a nights sleep when the neighbours kids were allowed to run riot until the early hours of the morning.
The one I moved into had neighbours above that left a dog on it's own through out the night, so again no sleep. Eventually they moved out before I did.
If you live above someone you feel the need to tip toe all the time, you know the people below can hear everything you're doing. When I was in bed with a girlfriend it was difficult to enjoy yourself because you're very aware the neighbours are in bed right below you.
Now I'm renting a ground floor maisonette I have cardboard sticking in several doors to stop them rattling when someone walks through the flat above. If their washing machine or bathroom floods, then my kitchen or bathroom gets flooded too.
One of the worst thing about the place I live in is that the bathroom window looks out onto the yard belonging to the flat above. This makes using the toilet very awkward when the neighbours are in their yard.
A lot of this depends on the structure of the building. If it's a Victorian conversion with no soundproofing then you are going to feel like you are back in your student house. Some blocks attract buy-to-let investors, some attract young professionals and some attract families - there tends to be less bad behaviour with professional owner-occupiers.
My block is a sixties office conversion with concrete floors, very solid construction and I am on a middle floor. I hear very little of my neighbours barring the occasional party, frankly it's better than some houses I have lived in! My parents block is a converted mill, again very solid construction and they have had no issues with noise in fourteen years. Many long leases do not allow pets, and there is Environmental Health for a persistent noisy neighbour.Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0
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