Advice needed buying a leasehold house

mcguinness

chickmug wrote: »

Just thought is the lease document part of of the HIPs pack? Sometimes it is and sometimes it is not.

Not sure about this- I will have to check although I have emailed and rung them (Mcinerney) expressing my concerns and asking them to answer a few question and they haven't been very forthcoming in getting back to me!!

Fire_Fox

Are the roads and grounds going to be adopted by the council or are you going to have to pay a service charge to have them maintained?

mylilangel

Same here. we are planning to reserve a new build 4 bed detatched with miller Homes, but it is surprisingly leasehold for 999 years rather than freehold, ground rent £125/ year. we were a bit concerned about this, sales has said that you can buy freehold after 2 years. They are leasehold to keep the cost down and so that you don't make ugly modifications to your house while the development is still in progress.

I asked if I could see the lease agreement, they said no, not until you have reserved and the agreement goes to your solicitor. I am aware that if I intend to sell the house in future, a lot of buyers are prejudiced against leasehold houses. i am thinking of asking the price new built as freehold.

The property is off plan, I have read in some threads that they can make alterations to the boundaries and plans until completion as long as the value of the house remains same, is that right.

They also said that you have to exchange within 28 days of reservation which is standard, but then there is no completion date specified on the contract. Of course with the usual promises that the development is progressing rapidly and they don't anticipate any delays. Can I ask them to specify a completion date with a penalty clause.

Although I would be looking for a 75% LTV mortgage, they said you have to pay Miller Homes only 5% deposit at exchange, and the rest at completion. If for some reason, the sale does not pull through later after exchange, am I liable only for the 5% i pay now at exchange or the whole 25% deposit I intend to pay.

Thank you.

Yorkie1

mylilangel wrote: »

The property is off plan, I have read in some threads that they can make alterations to the boundaries and plans until completion as long as the value of the house remains same, is that right.

I think that's what I've read previously here.

mylilangel wrote: »

They also said that you have to exchange within 28 days of reservation which is standard, but then there is no completion date specified on the contract. Of course with the usual promises that the development is progressing rapidly and they don't anticipate any delays. Can I ask them to specify a completion date with a penalty clause.

Again from what I've previously read on here, developers are notoriously reluctant to amend their standard terms to recognise the risk that they will not complete within a given or reasonable time. You will be aware that your mortgage offer is only valid for so many months, often 6, and that if you have not completed within that time then you will have to apply for a new product with the attendant risk that you no longer fit the lender's criteria or only more expensive products are available. And this will be post-exchange so you are committed to the purchase.

mylilangel wrote: »

Although I would be looking for a 75% LTV mortgage, they said you have to pay Miller Homes only 5% deposit at exchange, and the rest at completion. If for some reason, the sale does not pull through later after exchange, am I liable only for the 5% i pay now at exchange or the whole 25% deposit I intend to pay.

After exchange, you are legally obliged to buy the property irrespective of circumstances and there have been several horror stories about people being taken to court by developers who have taken too long to build, as outlined above. So you would be liable to pay the rest of the 95%, not just 5%.

The 75 / 25 split is not relevant to the developer - how you choose to fund the purchase is between you and the mortgage company. They will just want their money.

I think you need to speak to your solicitor and ask their advice. This will be a common concern in today's climate with new-builds.

Might be worth searching for other threads about new-build properties to see what other advice has been offered to other posters too

mylilangel

Thank you very much for the reply.

Blacksheep1979

mcguinness wrote: »

So far they have offered us 10 grand off their property, carpets, turfed lawn and 4 grand of optional extra. I still think their property is overpriced

So you've yet to finalise a price, yet

mcguinness wrote: »

we have already paid to reserve the plot

you've paid a reservation fee? Do you think this was a smart move, it's them that have you over a barrel if this fee was anything significant?