Selling a bit of garden

noddynoo

Hello I have purchased the freehold of a large victorian house.A small flat is sold off on a lease downstairs and we have a large back garden a roof terrace and a balcony.Unusually we also own the piece of garden outside the downstairs flat and they have approached us to buy it.We are tempted as renovations are mounting and this piece of garden is not ever going to be used by us and looks like it should be with downstairs but how do we get it valued and who will pay the legal fees?When we viewed the property we and the estate agent assumed it belonged to downstairs as it is right outside their door and we never access it but realised when we recieved the documents that it was ours.The girl downstairs is an avid gardener as she has made the tiny yard outside her back door stunning and so I know it would improve the overall look of the building tohave it landscaped which we will never do as we don't really see it as part of our home What do you think?The lease on the downstairs is 74 yrs so would the garden be added to that or would it be seperate?Thanks in advance you clever people xxxx

Ian_W

Sounds like a lovely gaff you've got!

If you sell them the land as freehold it won't half complicate things when they come to sell I would have thought. As their lease is getting rather short at 74yrs why not suggest that you sell them an extended lease and at the same time include the garden in it? It will enhance the value of their property so only right you get a decent cut.

You'll need to get an experienced leasehold valuation surveyor to advise on the price and then a solicitor to draw a new extended lease. There are lists for each region on https://www.lease-advice.org. It is usual for the leaseholder to pay the reasonable legal and valuation costs of the freeholder when a lease is extended.

HTH.

Robert_Sterling

How many feet wide is the garden?

noddynoo

The garden is 11ft x 16ft and is in the south east

babe_ruth_3

We sold a piece of garden about half your size to our neighbour. We agreed a price between us and did not use a solicitor, we just transferred the land with land registry. It was quite simple really but we did have to go to the land registry office in nottingham to do this. We live close so that wasn't a problem either.

Not sure how you go on with leasehold though.

noddynoo

babe ruth who decides the price?

Debt_Free_Chick

noddynoo wrote:

babe ruth who decides the price?

You and the buyer. There is no "market" for selling a bit of garden so nowhere to give you an idea of the price.

What you might want to consider is the extra value this would add to the downstairs flat and the reduction in value to your property. I would guess that the reduction in value in your property would be minimal, but the extra value to the flat would be higher. You might want to hold out for the full value (as the flatowner would realise that when they sold) or you might want to negotiate somewhere in between the two.

babe_ruth_3

Hi noddy,
My neighbours suggested a price and we accepted it as we thought it was a fair price for bit of garden that we never intended to use anyway.

Vincenzo

Provided I am understanding this correctly - this is a house, with a flat below (lower ground)? You cannot split a freehold in this way, therefore the flat must be included in your title. A lease will have been sold for this property (about 25 years ago - judging by the length of the lease) and you are the freeholder (Landlord) and should be collecting ground rent.

If this is the case, you should be looking to include the garden in the lease of the flat (DO NOT SELL THE FREEHOLD OF THE LAND - this could cause all kinds of problems later).

To do so you will need to get a solicitor to draw up a variation to the lease, or even agree a surrender and regrant for a new lease. I suggest, seeing as the leaseholders are willing to part with cash for the garden that you also offer to increase the lease length and draw up a new lease. You would be able to charge a fair market value for the extended the lease (a surevyor can value this or you could agree it between yourselves).

Anyway I hope I have understood your position and managed to help in some way!

noddynoo

Vicenzo that is exactly right.We want to add a variation to the lease as not keen on extending it as am hoping when she comes to sell the lease will affect the value and we will be able to afford it.I assume she will be responsible for all the legal costs?

Poppy9

noddynoo wrote:

Vicenzo that is exactly right.We want to add a variation to the lease as not keen on extending it as am hoping when she comes to sell the lease will affect the value and we will be able to afford it.I assume she will be responsible for all the legal costs?

I thought there were new laws for leaseholders giving them the right to either have their lease extended or to buy the freehold. I would assume though that different rules would apply for flats buying freeholds.

I do think that when the current owner comes to sell she is going to suspect you are interested in buying flat and inflate her price accordingly. Unless she is a fool she would realise that it would increase the value of your house considerably. If you were not willing to meet her price and she had to reduce it there is no guarantee she would sell to you and out of spite she would sell to anyone else but you.