Terrace with short lease from Taylor-Wimpey

The_Maestro

Hi,

I've put an offer on a terraced house in Darwen, Lancashire. The present occupiers have sold / Part -exchanged it with Taylor-Wimpey for £80K and moving to their new house built by that company in June.

When I viewed the house (showed around by the old owners still living there) I asked about the lease and they said something like it had 60ish years remaining which I don't like but I am wondering how much of an issue it is.

Should it affect the present price of the property much, and how much is it likely to cost to extend the lease or ideally buy the freehold? From what I have read on the internet it should be a fairly simple process but most people who write about it caveat what they say with 'you must check with a solicitor'. I am aware that as the lease gets shorter its more costly to extend, but if there is 60 years remaining is it likely to cost more than say £500-£1000?

I am also not sure its even possible to find out quickly - does the solicitor need to contact the freeholder or are there some fixed rules? I am aware that normally you have to live in a property for 2 years before you can extend the lease, but that you can get around this if the present owners pass onto you the right to extend it immediately. Is this likely to be possible with the house going through the hands of Taylor-Wimpey as the intermediary?

I phoned Taylor Wimpey and they said they don't usually talk to buyers due to some 'conflict of interests' and wanted me to only talk to the estate agent in future. They couldn't give me any information about the lease.

I would greatly appreciate some advice, and are there any other pitfalls with this type of purchase? Taylor Wimpey did a full survey on the house and insisted the present owners treated all damp and put a new roof on it at a cost to them of £4000 so I feel quite assured its in decent condition which is one good thing about it.

Dave

kingstreet

One of my clients bought a house in Rugeley, WS15, a couple of years ago. The purchase price was £150k and we reckon a freehold version was going for around £175,000. The ground rent is £20 per year.

The lease had 56 years left at the time of purchase and we've just had a valuation to buy the freehold from the landlord's agent, with a purchase price of £6,800 with another £1,200 for legal and agent's fees on top.

There's no guarantee this represents anything like what you have to pay, but it may be worth investigating it further with the freeholder or their agent, prior to purchase.

Yorkie1

Will you need a mortgage? If so you may find quite a few lenders won't be interested.

If the seller hasn't started the process of extending the lease off, then yes you need to wait for two years unless the freeholder agrees to a shorter period.

I believe the lease.org website is useful.

The_Maestro

Thanks! I had a search on the forum and it seems like its more likely to cost several thousand. People seem to be of the opinion that a 60 odd year long lease on a house is pretty dodgy too.

I've gone back to the agent to confirm the length of the lease and also asked if the new vendor has taken any action to extend it or buy the freehold. Aparently some companies will do this prior to offering for sale to make it more attractive. I think it will be a no-go otherwise.

Lucky escape! Thanks again.

Leaseman_2

With houses it is generally much better to buy the freehold than to take a lease extension.

Fire_Fox

http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/documents/document.asp?item=15

lynneinjapan

The leaseholder is not statutorily entitled to buy the freehold until they've owned the lease for two years. (I suppose they can ask before that but the freeholder isn't obliged to sell.) If they have then they can serve notice on the freeholder and get the right of enfranchisement assigned to you on completion of the sale of the lease (assuming that the freeholder can be found). If the old owners still own the house then they should be able to do that, but it doesn't sound as if they do, and Taylor-Wimpey won't have owned it for long enough to qualify, so I think you'd have to wait the two years.