what should I offer

Murtle

I might be getting confused, but I thought for a leasehold, the lease had to be in place so that you can get a mortgage, mortgage companies can be funny if the leasehold is anything lower then 75 years in my experience. My sister had to pay a few hundred pounds to get hers renewed when she bought the ground floor. Have you spoken to someone about a mortgage yet?? they should be able to advise

Norma_Desmond

The vendors should really sort themselves out! You would have thought that the lease would have been in place by now as Murtle says, because it is a very important part of the sale - could cost you a lot of money in major works bills etc. - do they really expect anyone to put in an offer 'sight unseen'!? Keep us updated!

dougk_2

My opnion is say to the estate agent/vendor , you are not prepared to make an offer until you have seen the proposed lease and had it checked with your solicitor.

I would not waste money and time planning things, speaking in detail to lenders etc until this is known. Lenders will want to know the cost of service charges, ground rent etc and what you are reponsible for, what rights of way there are etc.

beeb_boy

I've just got off the phone to the agent. I explained that I was interested in the flat but was not willing to proceed until I had seen the draft lease or at least a list of what I needed to know. The lady said she didn't know and there was nothing in the file. She knows that there will be ground rent but can't tell me how much. She doesn't know about a service charge and can't give me any clue as to what is in the lease. The new lease will apparently be drawn up when the sale is completed.

The flat on the ground floor is rented by a long rental tenant (sitting I think), she gets full use of the garden. I don't want to be paying a service charge for the garden when I'm not allowed to use it!

How does this affect my chances of getting a mortgage? I want to put an offer in but only if there is no (or very little) service charge. I'm not going to do that until I know all the facts and if I can actually get a mortgage for the flat.

I'm really annoyed. this is the first place in ages that I really like and I can't do ANYTHING about it because the agents/vendors don't have a clue!!

Grrrrrrr - it makes me so angry - you would have thought the agent would have done the most they could do to get the info!

:mad: :eek:

Norma_Desmond

Quite frankly, beeb, this stinks! If the vendors/estate agents are this disorganised at the start, what on earth are they going to come up with later? Easy for me to say, but I'd walk away from this flat NOW!

beeb_boy

Just spoke to the manager now and he said that although the new lease won't be drawn up until completion there shouldn't be a service charge as there are only 2 units in the house and the ground rent would be peppercorn, ie virtually nothing. He said that it shouldn't be a problem for me getting a mortgage and may be advantageous as I could agree the wording with the vendor and other flat owner.

I think that I'm going to put an offer in now, I was thinking of about £71,500 to start with, (the flat is on for £74950). Do you think this is ok and not too cheeky?? :j

lush_walrus

I have just finished converting a house into two flats and thus set up leases/freeholds etc and it takes a very long time to do and involves setting boundarys on drawings, agreeing who is responsible for what area of the land/flat etc!!!

If they do not have it in place already, my advice is do not get involved with buying this flat. I am 99.9 percent sure that not be able to get a standard mortgage without a lease being drawn up, as ultimately what are they lending on. If there are no lease documents then the vender can ultimately choose to draw up a lease for 1 year, which will mean that the flat will return to the ownership of the freeholder after a year of owning it!!! Any leases which are less than 50 years render the flat far less valuable than it would be if it were 99 years plus.

Im not surprised the agent doesnt know any of the lease details if there isnt a lease in place, the agents mistake is agreeing to sell it under those terms and ultimately not inform you of the situation prior to viewing it.

I think its all a bit of a mess. If you are really determined that this is the flat you want then tell the agents that you will only put in an offer on the understanding that the vender proceeds on setting up the lease immediately. The vender has no arguement in needing to wait, whoever buys the flat he will need to set up the lease documents regardless.

Im sorry to say that I say no no no to buying this flat.

lush_walrus

Sorry but I think the manager is giving you very bad advice, no lease and you will be left negotiating the lease at the last moment after you have already spent out money on surveys and the like...That is if you can find a bank to lend on it.

dougk_2

I agree - No lease details no offer

Do not do anything until you know what the lease is going to say - Its rather like buying a car without knowing the make and model and how many miles its done!

garysletters

couldnt agree more with the above comments.
You have to have a lease to buy a leasehold property. I wouldnt touch it with your bargepole!

Peppercorn rent would probably be in the region of £10 a year (peppercorn meaning very small).
There is no set charge for a service charge. It is something that is chargable each year depending on what work is done to the house. What the service charges include is explained in your lease.......oh wait......you dont have one!!!

also, the service charge will include a management charge, which will go to the vendor no doubt. Plus he may charge you to insure the property, adding on his fee.

have you seen evidence that this property IS actually a seperate dwelling yet??? If its got no lease it might not be registered at the land registry.

Walk away my friend!

theres a reason why it's your favourite.......because its so cheap compared to other similar properties. theres a reason its cheap, because it's as dodgy as {add something very dodgy here. I dont want to get done for libel}.