Buying a house with a leasehold

motherofstudents

I think you are supposed to ask permission if you want to build an extension etc but a lot of people don't and I don't think there is a problem. Most houses here have been extended, structure changed etc. It is not the same as a leasehold flat i.e. no maintenance charges, the only charge is ground rent which is usually very small. I think there may be some new companies who have appeared recently who will make money out of charging people if they forget to pay the ground rent for example. I wouldn't be worried about it but if you have any concerns, speak to your solicitor.

pelethecat

I have an old terrace house with just under 900 years left on the lease. These leases are quite different from leases on modern houses/flats where the developer is recouping their investment or actively managing the developments. We have to pay about £2 in rent every six months. In terms of rental charges and resale it really doesn't make any practical difference and while not quite as good as freehold it wouldn't put me off buying.

However, it is important to check the terms of your lease and who your freeholders actually are. For example, depending on clauses in the original lease, the freeholders could require you to take buildings insurance of their choice - they will then pick someone who charges a hefty price and gives them commission. The Compton Group are notorious for doing this. There may be other clauses in your lease - for example, we're not allowed to alter the plan or elevation of the house, or to sell alcohol on the premises (!) and my neighbours aren't allowed to keep sheep in their garden (this is a city centre terraced area!).

Many freeholders have been lost, and if rent hasn't been collected for over 12 years then they can't backclaim.

Richard_Webster

This thread is about leasehold houses so anything about flats just confuses, so please do not post if you are talking about a flat.

Big difference between an older property with a 999 year or other very long lease at a low ground rent and a lease of a house for originally only 99 years. I wouldn't touch the latter with a barge pole because it will go down in value as the years go on and you will often find the freehold is owned by some toxic property company that is sat waiting to charge you a large sum to buy the freehold and in the meantime charge large amounts for approving extensions etc.

Mind you the £650 to approve an extension scam is also found with longer leases so it is important to find out the identity of the freeholder and if it is a toxic company then if buying a leasehold house, particularly in a buyer's market, then require the seller to buy the freehold first.

However it is often the case that the freehold belongs to some little old lady that will give a consent for extensions for very little or nobody knows the identity of the freeholder because for many years it has not been worth spending the time and money trying to collect the ground rent so contact has been lost.