HELP 60 year lease left

HaAy

Hi guys,

I need some help

I bought a flat about 7 years ago that had a lease of 68 years remaining. I was very naive and didn't have a clue what that really meant. I did ask my solicitor who thought it wasn't a problem.

However, 2 years ago I paid for a survey to be done at a cost of £400, it turns out that the cost of the lease renewal should be £7k-£9k. I wrote to the freeholders with all this information and they said they would renew at a price of £8,200, but that I had to have some repairs done on some windows because I was in breech of the lease without having them repaired.

I couldn't afford to do both, so I paid to have the windows done. 2 years later I went back to the freeholders and said that i was ready now to renew the lease. However, I have had a letter from their solicitors saying that I need to pay for a new survey to be done at a cost of £540 and that would be a confidential document that only they could see.

I am gutted as already the lease renewal was going to kill me! I am having to take out a loan just to fund that - now they are talking about further costs and also potentially increasing the cost!

I am really annoyed as I have always complied and paid half when they wanted things done on the overall building etc. so I do feel this is being unreasonable. They know that I am a single parent etc.

I simply can't afford to get solicitors involved as battle this out as I will be paying their solicitor costs anyway!

Please can someone give me some ideas and potential ways to proceed??

Thanks

Icey77

Unfortunately it's quite normal to pay the survey costs for the freeholder you'll also need to pay for your own survey to ensure that the freeholder isn't trying to pull a fast one and have you pay over the odds for the lease.

The freeholder essentially has nothing to lose, he will either get money from you to renew the lease or will get a flat when the else expires. He may have to wait 60+ years to get a flat but the more time goes by the more money he will get to renew the lease to you.

Do you have a mortgage on the flat? I'd be surprised if the banks lent you money to buy a flat with less than 80 years left on the lease as they get twitchy (understandably!) about lending you money on an asset you might have to hand to someone else shortly after you've finished paying for it.

I'd suggest you get the wheels in motion to renew the lease as soon as possible and learn from the experience, sorry!

AndyGuil

I would use the MSE calculator on the cost of renewing the lease including solicitor costs. If the freeholder comes back with a value that is unreasonable then negotiate or get your own survey done.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/extend-your-lease

Banks used to need 30 years plus mortgage term. These days it is 70 years.

mart.vader

Icey77 wrote: »

Unfortunately it's quite normal to pay the survey costs for the freeholder you'll also need to pay for your own survey to ensure that the freeholder isn't trying to pull a fast one and have you pay over the odds for the lease.

The freeholder essentially has nothing to lose, he will either get money from you to renew the lease or will get a flat when the else expires. He may have to wait 60+ years to get a flat but the more time goes by the more money he will get to renew the lease to you. If you are still around in 60 years, when the lease expires, you will become an assured tenant. You don't get evicted

Do you have a mortgage on the flat? I'd be surprised if the banks lent you money to buy a flat with less than 80 years left on the lease as they get twitchy (understandably!) about lending you money on an asset you might have to hand to someone else shortly after you've finished paying for it.
I'd suggest you get the wheels in motion to renew the lease as soon as possible and learn from the experience, sorry!

Not true - see above

freeisgood

I think it is a case of "renew it quickly" as the cost will increase considerably every year.

dancingfairy

Do you NEED to extend the lease? is it requirement of the mortgage? do you want to remortgage? are you planning to sell?
If you are planning to sell then I believe you can get all the paperwork done and agree a price and then it would come off your share of any profit when the sale goes through.
As the above poster pointed out it will be a balancing act of whether to renew now at todays price or wait and as the lease gets shorter the price of the lease will get more and more expensive.
Apart from that it is done to negotiation. You don't have to pay what they want and you don't have to renew the lease. Obviously if you can't agree a sensible and fair price then you will need to go to tribunal.
First off is the price reasonable?
df

dancingfairy

As the price will go up the shorter the lease becomes it is unreasonable for them to hold the price they quoted to you for 2 years. However you can write to them and explain you thought the price quoted before would still stand. You never know, they may enter negotiations?
df

HaAy

I understand it is normal for me to pay for a survey - but is it normal for it to be a confidential document that is withheld from me?

HaAy

I don't NEED to renew the lease, but the situation I am in is that if it goes another year the price to renew will increase considerably.

I can't afford to do it really, plus I only have about 7k of equity in the property (based on if it sells for what I paid for it - which it won't do if I don't have the lease renewed).

dancingfairy

I don't know but surely if you're paying for something you'd get to see it? It would seem unfair otherwise.
df
Edit: it would seem from posts further up the thread that you pay for their costs and your costs so I guess from that yes, they get to see their copy and you get to see yours.
It sounds a complete nightmare.

JBGK

Help !!
I am looking for advise with regarding renewing/purchasing my lease which currently stands at approx. 64 years.Ever since I have purchased the property since 2002 (solicitor didn't think there was a problem) , I have been unable to contact the landlord to discuss and renew (the previous owners faced a similar scenario). I am concerned even with the assistance of my solicitor and various other parties I have been unable to locate the individual. We even visited the property address on the legal documents and the individual no longer lived there, the property had been turned into flats and current owners never heard of the individual. I am aware in the current climate that it may be difficult from prospective purchasers to obtain a mortgage for the property. I am unclear who much the renewal of the leasehold would cost.

Could you possibly advise my options/next steps , costs considering the inability to contact/locate the landlord?

Thanks in advance