Do this seem fishy.

CELTIC_YOB

Some advice sure would be nice.
A friend of mine as a house he bought 40 years ago. When he bought it, the solicitor told him he also had the freeload, Looking at the papers, he don't have the freehold.
He was contacted by a solicitor who told him the lease is nearly up, and if he wanted to buy the freeload it would cost £78,000, after a week they drooped it to £45,000.
My friend is now old age and can't afford that sort of money.
The solicitor as now said he will pay the £45.000 and allow my friend to live in the property until he dies, and then the house will become his.
The house is a terraced house, in the South Wales valleys.
I suppose the house value is about £80,000.
Do this all seem above board?
Thanks for any information.

livinginhope

I would fish out all the original paperwork from the house purchase (if still available) and get another solicitor to advise on what happened to the freehold.
Sounds really dodgy to me!

Ghost

I lived in a leasehold property for many years.

I paid ground rent on an annual basis and under the terms of the lease, the ground rent once set would never change. I was offered the purchase of the lease (by the lease holding company) on many occasions and as the years went by, so the cost of the full lease increased. However, the most it ever went up to was something like £300 - never in its thousands.

The reason I didn't purchase the lease is because my annual lease payments were so low it would have taken me a hundred years to break even! :rotfl:

It sounds to me as if there is definitely something dodgy going on. Wouldn't the deeds to the house clarify the leasehold/freehold situation?

Strongly suggest he/you seek independent advice. Also, contact Age Concern to see if they can help your friend or point him in the right direction.

CELTIC_YOB

Thanks Livinghope and Ghost.
Good advise, I advised him to go to the citizens advise he as made an appointment.
That bit about age concern is good to.
Something I forgot to write in my first piece is.
Two solicitors called on him today, with a briefcase of papers for him to sign. He new they were coming and I told him to sign nothing until he had more information.
They went telling him he only had a few days to make is mind up.
Again thanks.

Ian_W

Hi Yob,
That sounds even more sinister. :eek:

Are we talking England or Scotland on this one - your user name might suggest the latter but it's not clear?

If it's England the comments above about leasehold are valid but I really don't know if it works the same in Scotland.

Did he buy it with a mortgage 40yrs ago? If he did it's almost certain no lender would have given him one with only 40yrs left on the leasehold. If the solicitor acting for the freeholder is suggesting that he will personally buy the lease extension then I would think he's very much in breach of ethics as a solicitor and could be disciplined.

You could go to https://www.landregistry.gov.uk/ and for £2 you can download the title details of his property - providing it's regisstered, which most are. This should tell you whether it's freehold or if leasehold the details inc when the lease expires.

CAB and/or Age Concern is good advice and he should take all the docs he has about the purchase. But stress to him not to sign anything and to have someone with him if he has to see Pinky & Perkie again. If they turn up unannounced tell him not to let them in.

Can't be sure but it sounds like a scam to me. Let us know what happens.

EDIT: Missed the bit about S. Wales. In terms of property law they are the same as England.

Ghost

CELTIC_YOB wrote:

Something I forgot to write in my first piece is.
Two solicitors called on him today, with a briefcase of papers for him to sign. He new they were coming and I told him to sign nothing until he had more information. They went telling him he only had a few days to make is mind up.

:eek: Those alarm bells are certainly ringing! If they are intimidating him is it possible to report this situation to the police?

I don't know how property laws affect the South Wales valley, but surely it can't be that much different from England.

Incidentally, does this elderly man have any relatives? If not, he is very vulnerable right now and needs someone to help him - fast!

Cara79

This sounds really dodgy to me and think it might need to be reported to the police.

I don't believe that 2 solicitors would visit someone's house, esp without an appointment! The amount of money they charge per hour.

Sounds really dodgy.

Make sure your friend gets some advice quick and make sure he signs nothing.

I think this is really bad practice!

clairehi

This has rung a bell with me.

Im pretty sure there was a story in the paper last year about a woman who lived in a terraced house in the Valleys. She had a knock on the door one day and discovered that the house, which she believed she owned, was up for sale!

It turned out that the house was leasehold and I think, although I cant be sure, that the lease had expired. The freeholder was a company or individual that she had never heard of and she was totally unaware that the house was leasehold. I dont know what the outcome was but she stood to lose the roof over her head.

I do hope your friend is not in such a bad position, but he does need to get legal advice (from a reputable solicitor!) ASAP.

mamaoba

If he calls the poloice they'll investigte pretty quickly to find out whether this is a nasty fraud or not - it's what we pay our taxes for. If it's all above board these solicitors will be able to answer any questions and provide any docs the boys in blue require. Don't let it ride.

CELTIC_YOB

Sorry I'm a bit late answering these replies.

His daughter and son in law were present when the solicitors came, and they told me, they seemed surprised.

Looking at all the papers he as, it seem he don't own the freehold.
His daughter as made an appointment to go to the CAB.
It seems the people who own the freehold are a textile firm in London.
As anyone known the freehold of a property to be as costly as this?

I will let you all know the outcome.

Again thanks one and all.

Ian i'm to old to be a yob now.

itsakidsworld

This incident is terrible. Please follow the good advice given on here.

Number one, go to the police and report all that has happened. They will log this incident onto a case file and then at least if these rogues continue to try to be heavy handed, you will have a case number.

As stated, go to citizens advice as soon as possible. They are usually very busy and so if this is the case, go to an independant solicitor who will see your friend for half or one hour for free and give advice. The solicitor will without doubt fight the case and hopefully help your friend. This will cost but not as much hopefully as what could be at stake here.

I am afraid to say that this sort of tactic from so-called businesmen is becoming more and more common and is normally a result of bad book-keeping by the government. These crooks found a loop- hole years ago about property and land registery and as always, it is the poor unsuspecting owner ( who is always old by the way) who is frightened into action.

We had a similar case in our area and once the local residents found out, we formed a human barrier for our friend and the company eventually backed down. They were from London as well and thought they were the big tough guys out to make a quick buck.

Sorry to rant on but this issue really makes me so very angry.

I will be thinking of your friend and wishing him the best of luck in this terrible situation.