HELP ME! Please, Though it was freehold but is actually leasehold

penguine

From lease-advise.org:

Where can I get a copy of my lease?

This ought to be given to you when you purchase a leaseholder property. However, where there is a mortgage on the property it can be obtained from the mortgage lender. Alternatively the Land registry will hold a copy. Please note that an administration fee may be charged for providing a copy of the lease.

Important things to find out are whether the ground rent will increase after a certain period of time, and what your obligations and the freeholder's obligations are under the lease.

penguine

You may also want to read this section on leasehold houses:

http://www.lease-advice.org/wizard/?step=7

JoolzS

Rollerball wrote: »

Speaking as a layman, there would appear to be no problem? You've over 950 years left on the lease (it's only an issue if it's less than 80 years). And the ground rent is less than £10 per year which is negligible.

If you are buying a property with a 999 year lease then it is pretty much the same as buying a freehold property, unless there are any horrible restrictions. Your solicitor should advise you on the terms of the lease. My own long lease demands that I paint the outside of the property every three years - it's been painted once in 16 years and the landlord lives downstairs! The landlord could insist that we paint the outside every three years, but she's nice and realises that it is a silly condition on a lease she had no part in creating.

A 999 year lease is pretty much the same as owning a property freehold. Don't worry about it.

Julie

Doozergirl

One of the first things your solicitor will do is check the title to the property. I bet they already know it's leasehold - that fact that they haven't mentioned anything as yet should indicate to you that things are pretty normal.

Nearly the full 999 year lease with 9.80 ground rent isn't much to worry about and owning a leasehold house is on the whole far less stressful than in a flat where they have to be leasehold because they're all sharing the ground and have to look after each other's investment.

Just ask your solicitor to explain the key parts of the lease to you this morning

Richard_Webster

Doozergirl wrote: »

One of the first things your solicitor will do is check the title to the property. I bet they already know it's leasehold - that fact that they haven't mentioned anything as yet should indicate to you that things are pretty normal.

Nearly the full 999 year lease with 9.80 ground rent isn't much to worry about and owning a leasehold house is on the whole far less stressful than in a flat where they have to be leasehold because they're all sharing the ground and have to look after each other's investment.

Just ask your solicitor to explain the key parts of the lease to you this morning

Yes, as always the main thing is "Ask your solicitor".

Mostly its no big deal that it is leasehold, assuming it is a house. If it is flat I'd be more concerned if it was freehold!

The main thing is to find out who the freeholder is. Mostly they are only too happy to sell the freehold for a few hundred pounds but there are some rip off property companies who sit there thinking of angles to make money out of lessees, so you need to ask your solicitor about that aspect.

By the way, roughly where is the property? There are some areas of the country where most houses were originally leasehold so the estate agents should be aware of the factor and check the point more before saying it is freehold.

vicstick86

By mouse price, it seems most the road is leasehold, and a few are freehold. so yeh I think should be able to buy the freehold.

Its in bristol, which apparently has a lot of leasehold houses.

I think most of you have reassured me its still ok to carry on with the sale so THANKS :-)

Ill just make sure the lease is explained to us clearly

beaujolais-nouveau

JoolzS wrote: »

A 999 year lease is pretty much the same as owning a property freehold.

No, it isn't.

beaujolais-nouveau

vicstick86 wrote: »

I think most of you have reassured me its still ok to carry on with the sale so THANKS :-)

Well, I wouldn't, until I knew what the service charges were; the insurance charges; whether or not the freeholder could demand unlimited amounts on account, as "indemnity fund" or "reserve fund".

vicstick86 wrote: »

Ill just make sure the lease is explained to us clearly

Before you commit irrevocably, or afterwards? Unlike yourself - I assume - I have met lots of people whose lives have been and continue to be made completely wretched by their freeholders. These are people living in good areas - prime London property - not slum neighbourhoods.

In your place, I would also Google the name of the freeholder, in all the different ways its name might be written. (I mean, for instance, that our freeholder's name is often shortened to just four initials.)

Richard_Webster

Quote:
Originally Posted by vicstick86
I think most of you have reassured me its still ok to carry on with the sale so THANKS :-)

Well, I wouldn't, until I knew what the service charges were; the insurance charges; whether or not the freeholder could demand unlimited amounts on account, as "indemnity fund" or "reserve fund".

Very unlikely that these things would be chargeable for a long leasehold house.

AMILLIONDOLLARS

You need to find out who are the freeholders? is the ground rent fully paid up, and what obligations are expected of you as the leaseholder.

Personally, Leasehold houses are more difficult to sell than Freehold ones because you don't own the land it sits on. Think about this, even though its a repro, would it fetch the same price as surrounding houses in the area when it came time to resale, I think not because you would not be selling the land and house as is normal practice, you'd be selling a lease+ house. You need to go on web and try to research the price history of this house using Land registry

Yes you've spent money on trying to buy this one, but thinking long term,Ii'd cut my losses on this one as I wouldn't want the hassle

AMD