Mix of Freehold and Leasehold

dm1975

Hi,

I'm buying my first house which is Freehold. All was going fine until my solicitor pointed out that the ground floor storage cupboard outside the front door (while in the boundaries of my deed) is under lease as their is a 'Carriage' flat above & extending past the cupboard (stairs to the Carriage flat is above my cupboard).

The original lease was just 99 years and now it's just 70 years.

My solicitor has advised that it's not really an issue for buying & living there but will be when I come to sell. Is there anything I can do?

Q - how many years should there be on a lease to comfortably sell?
Q - Should the lease be extended by the current owner?
Q - How much would it cost considering it's just a cupboard?
Q - Can I disown the cupboard although fuse box & meters are in there?

I really want this house & don't want to walk away now just because of a stupid cupboard!!! Any help & advice welcomed.

Thanks

AndyGuil

If you own the freehold can you not just increase it to 999 years yourself? Or is the freehold of the cupboard owned by someone else?

ethank

Answers to your questions

If it is on the same level as your property it is normally you who will be the freeholder, - is this the case? The fact there is a flat above a house is complex.

It becomes difficult to sell past 70 years - so anything above this. How long do you plan to live there?

I would ask the seller to do it as a condition of the sale. Don't make the lease extension your headache, and you have no legal right to extend a lease until you have been there for 2 years. Bear in mind that the buyer may say they will serve a notice on the freeholder and let you have the benefit of it.

You would need a valuation from a proper surveyor to tell you the value.

dm1975

Thanks for the responses

@AndyGuil - that is a good point. I should check who owns the freehold of the cupboard area.

@ethank - I guess I plan to be there 5-10 years? Sorry what did you mean by 'Bear in mind that the buyer may say they will serve a notice on the freeholder and let you have the benefit of it. '?

Does anyone know how long it would take if I requested the seller to extend the lease?

dm1975

ethank wrote: »

Answers to your questions

If it is on the same level as your property it is normally you who will be the freeholder, - is this the case? The fact there is a flat above a house is complex.

It becomes difficult to sell past 70 years - so anything above this. How long do you plan to live there?

I would ask the seller to do it as a condition of the sale. Don't make the lease extension your headache, and you have no legal right to extend a lease until you have been there for 2 years. Bear in mind that the buyer may say they will serve a notice on the freeholder and let you have the benefit of it.

You would need a valuation from a proper surveyor to tell you the value.

Yes my house is the ground floor & first floor. The cupboard is ground floor.

ethank, what did you mean by 'Bear in mind that the buyer may say they will serve a notice on the freeholder and let you have the benefit of it. '?

ethank

dm1975 wrote: »

ethank, what did you mean by 'Bear in mind that the buyer may say they will serve a notice on the freeholder and let you have the benefit of it. '?

A lease extension can take from as little as two weeks to over a year dependent on the circumstances. Check out the process on the Leasehold Advisory Service website

Most sellers do not want to wait for the lease extension to be processed, and because you as the buyer do not have the right to submit an extension until you have been there two years, the seller can submit the application and include this in the sale - they can complete on their sale, and you can then continue the extension process.

AndyGuil

ethank wrote: »

A lease extension can take from as little as two weeks to over a year dependent on the circumstances. Check out the process on the Leasehold Advisory Service website

Most sellers do not want to wait for the lease extension to be processed, and because you as the buyer do not have the right to submit an extension until you have been their two years, the seller can submit the application and include this in the sale - they can complete on their sale, and you can then continue the extension process.

You can always ask before the 2 years, otherwise it is typical to wait 2 years then you can definitely do it. If you own the freehold as well then it doesn't matter, you can extend it just the legal costs and whenever you like.

Richard_Webster

Is this area:

a) within the freehold title and also within a 70 year leasehold title or
b) only within a 70 year leasehold title?

Does the seller own the 70 year leasehold title as well as the freehold?

It occurs to me that this could well be a case where the area in question is within the lease of the upstairs "carriage" ( - do you mean coach house?) flat and part of the freehold. If this is the case then unless your seller owns the leasehold flat as well all the business about extending the lease is nothing to do with anything because the seller doesn't own any more than the freehold reversion of the area (i.e. the right to get the flat and this area back when the 70 years is up) and in the meantime to collect ground rent if any.

dm1975

Richard_Webster wrote: »

Is this area:

a) within the freehold title and also within a 70 year leasehold title or
b) only within a 70 year leasehold title?

Does the seller own the 70 year leasehold title as well as the freehold?

It occurs to me that this could well be a case where the area in question is within the lease of the upstairs "carriage" ( - do you mean coach house?) flat and part of the freehold. If this is the case then unless your seller owns the leasehold flat as well all the business about extending the lease is nothing to do with anything because the seller doesn't own any more than the freehold reversion of the area (i.e. the right to get the flat and this area back when the 70 years is up) and in the meantime to collect ground rent if any.

@Richard Webster, thanks for the reply.

Yes it's the coach house stairs that are above my cupboard. My freehold title states I own the freehold of the ground including the area on the cupboard but it also states that I only own the ground floor section of the cupboard area.

As far as I'm aware my seller doesn't own the lease of the flat and is owned by the housing estate.

So does this mean that neither my seller or myself can extend the lease?

If not then will I have any issues in 10 years when I sell as I own the freehold?