Difficulty with asking EA questions about buying a leasehold flat. Maintenance etc

propertyman

No no no there is no easy route there is only the right route.

C'mon how much are you spending and you want to rely on a quick chat !?

This person may have changed their windows without consent are in breach of the lease and you might bring them the FH and legal action.

Why do you assume their lease is the same as yours....?

Go to HMLR and get a copy of the office copy entries of the freehold title and you can see who the freeholder is.

Whether they live there or not is largely irrelevant- what you will want to know is if the leases provide for repair serving and insurance of the building and that there is person or company with the legal authority to do that and is doing so.

Ask the agent to ask the vendor to send you a copy of the current budget or the contact details of the person who does issue it. These days it should be no more that a right click copy paste and email on request.

http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/documents/document.asp?item=7

richimgd

Ok fair enough - I see what you're saying. That link has been a great help so will have to familiarise myself with all the terminology. There is the majority of the 999 year lease left so no issue of having a very short lease at least.

I've asked to get a copy of the lease so I can have a look at it - although I will probably need to send it over to my solicitor to explain. I will try and find out any points about carrying out work such as replacing windows and if they would be demised to me or not. The window company recons the planning request would cost somewhere in the region of £450... seems very expensive!? They did say that they have never had an issue with a planning request getting rejected which is good at least.

I will also check to confirm if the cost of repairs etc is divided evenly I.e 33% for each flat. It would be bad if I would have to pay 50% costs and the other 2 flats 25% for instance! I will ask the relevant questions about the accounts and if there is money in the reserve fund. So far the suggestions are there is little or no money in the reserve fund. I looked at the property today and did notice that the fascia board looks like it is in need of some tlc - the paint was all flaking off. Also I could see a tile was missing on the roof, so it would be good to establish if there are any plans of any upcoming repair work and if there was any money aside to pay for it...