Flat roof on purpose built flats?

redonion

I'm in the process of buying a flat in a purpose built 1930s block. The flat I'm buying is not on the top floor.

It seems that even full survey won't necessarily involve looking at the roof if it's a block of flats?

What can I do, if anything, to find out about what condition the roof is in? I've already tried talking to the residents, but most are renting and one of the other owner occupiers is selling - I think they're honest but they aren't necessarily going to tell me about any problems.

System

Interesting problem as the roof could well be owned by a different flat and therefore will not fall under the remit of your surveyor

redonion

Now that I think about it, I don't know for sure it's a flat roof, I just assumed. It's a 4 floor building, and it's hard to tell from the ground floor...

sammyjammy

Ask for access so you can see the roof for yourself. Even if it is a flat roof its going to be a concrete one rather than of the felted variety.

redonion

sammyjammy wrote: »

Ask for access so you can see the roof for yourself. Even if it is a flat roof its going to be a concrete one rather than of the felted variety.

I doubt my ability to evaluate the state it's in. Presumably concrete is good, felt bad? In a concrete roof, what should I look for?

phill99

!!!!!! wrote: »

Interesting problem as the roof could well be owned by a different flat and therefore will not fall under the remit of your surveyor

Wrong. No flat will own the roof. The roof, walls, foundations and common parts are owned by the freeholder.

Money_Bunny

Perhaps as important as finding out about the state of the roof is finding out how the management of the building is organised and funded. Do leaseholders pay a management fee and who does it go to? One possible arrangement is a leaseholder run management company jointly owned by the leaseholders - in which case find out who the directors are and ask for a copy of the accounts. Check whether there is a sinking fund (a fund to which all leaseholders contribute) which would fund major repairs.

What is the state of the common areas of the flats and any outside areas? Good maintenance here probably points to good maintenance of the more structural side of things.

redonion

Money_Bunny wrote: »

Perhaps as important as finding out about the state of the roof is finding out how the management of the building is organised and funded. Do leaseholders pay a management fee and who does it go to? One possible arrangement is a leaseholder run management company jointly owned by the leaseholders - in which case find out who the directors are and ask for a copy of the accounts. Check whether there is a sinking fund (a fund to which all leaseholders contribute) which would fund major repairs.

It's leasehold, managed by the same company that owns the freehold. The leaseholders don't own that company. I assume I can't get hold of the accounts assuming it's a private company? Would you recommend finding out who the directors are in this case?

What is the state of the common areas of the flats and any outside areas? Good maintenance here probably points to good maintenance of the more structural side of things.

Not great, but OK. Certainly leaves room for doubt. The total annual charges (ground rent + service + insurance) are on the low side.

HildaM

The flat we moved from this year had a flat felt roof - it was felt on concrete. The building was also 4 storeys high.

We used to have an inspection of the roof every two years and we would receive a report about it's condition and how much longer it was expected to last. This is the sort of information your solicitor should be getting from the vendor, rather than relying on your own surveyor to give an opinion (unless your surveyor is expert in that field).

One thing you may not have considered - it was never straightforward getting house contents insurance - the question is usually "is the roof of standard construction, eg slate or tile". Even though we were ground floor, we would sometimes have insurance refused because there was a flat roof 3 floors above!

Money_Bunny

Fraid I really only know about situations where the leaseholders own the management company. Is there anyway you could ask the freeholder about work done/ planned?

AlexMac

As discussed above, the roof and any necessary future repairs will be down to the freeholder, or their managing agent, who will collect service and maintenance annually charges from leaseholders, plus any one-off bills for your share of biggies like roof repairs and external decorations every 5-7 years (as you say "The total annual charges (ground rent + service + insurance) are on the low side" which hints that there may be no 'sinking fund ' for these big occasional expenses). You surveyor will peobably not even therefore look at the roof, or come to that, the externals, as its a leasehold.

i know some mortgage lenders are unhappy withe flat roofs, but I assume thats mainly a freehold problem. So while a survey may not be much use to you (in that it will probably only cover the inside of your flat), as long as your lender is happy, all you have to worry about it the possibility of future bills. And as part of the standard pre-purchase enquiries, any decent conveyancing solicitor will ask the freeholder about any planned scheduled works; make sure they do