Would I pay service charges on a leasehold maisonette?

mr_fishbulb

I'm looking at the different properties in my price range in London.

I'm falling further away from liking a flat in a block as the service charge can be around £200 /month. I understand with leasehold (as most properties will be unless I move further out of London) you par a ground rent which is a fairly nominal fee.

So if I look for maisonettes (with a separate entrance - no shared areas), would this mean services charges are not applicable?

Cheers

Richard_Webster

It will depend on the way the lease is worded so there is no absolute rule about this, but it is very likely that there won't be a service charge with a classic purpose built maisonette.

However you will have to arrange maintenance and buildings insurance yourself so you don't save all the costs involved with a service charge.

If the property is ex-local authority they tend you use a one size fits all lease that is more suitable for blocks for any maisonettes that they formerly owned and therefore typically would have a service charge provision.

££sc££

Service charges would be a lot less if there's no communal areas for freeholder to maintain, but there could still be some, e.g. grounds maintenance of grounds

Ground rent can be a nominal fee, but there's been a few posts on here recently of significant ground rent charges, e.g. £500 p.a.

Reckon best idea is to ask at viewings.

moromir

Richard_Webster wrote: »

It will depend on the way the lease is worded so there is no absolute rule about this, but it is very likely that there won't be a service charge with a classic purpose built maisonette.

I'm suprised by this, I've never known a maisonette on a development not have a service charge.

The lease should specify if service charge is due along with any other responsibilities, it would come up in Solicitor's questions but I appreciate you wanting to know before it proceeded that far. Might just be a matter of calling the estate agents and asking?

BitterAndTwisted

My sister is just about to buy a 1st and 2nd floor maisonette. Although the service-charges are very low they are not non-existent. Someone has to pay for grounds-maintenance, driveways and maintenance of pipes and gutters for instance. I'm crossing my fingers that the place doesn't need a new roof in the next few years as there's no sinking-fund and savings are modest right now

matmad

Our block consists of 12 purpose built maisonettes, 6 one-bedroom and 6 two floor two bedroom ones.

We all have to pay service charges to maintain the block as a whole.

Richard_Webster

There are two meanings of maisonette:

1.One is a flat with a separate entrance and hardly anything in the way of internal common parts - and I had assumed OP was referring to this kind of maisonette in his original query.

2.The other is a two storey flat often found in Council blocks - here there would be every reason to have a service charge.

mr_fishbulb

Richard_Webster wrote: »

There are two meanings of maisonette:

1.One is a flat with a separate entrance and hardly anything in the way of internal common parts - and I had assumed OP was referring to this kind of maisonette in his original query.

Yeah that's the one

Thanks all for your answers. Trying to make sense of all these extras is a pain.

If I'm going to be paying x on mortgage and y on extra charges then I might as well find somewhere bigger with no charges that costs (x + y) on mortgage.

Richard_Webster

The estate agents may well not know about the presence or absence of service charges but the seller should - so ask him direct if you can - if not try the people upstairs/downstairs from this maisonette - always worth finding out what they are like anyway!