Estimated Time to get keys to new flat and Strange Survey Comments

Yasmin02

Hi All

Just wondering of estimated timescales of geting into my new flat and how long conveyancing would take etc. Last Friday i instructed Conveyancing Warehouse to act on my behalf.

My survey has been carried out and all appears to be OK. However, the surveyor has put in a paragraph which i do not understand can' anyone shed any light. The flat is share of freehold by the way.

' The lease has not been inspected and it is assumed for valuation purposes that it does not contain any onerous provisions. The lenders solictors should confirm that the lease does not contain any onerous provisions and that the arrangments for future management and maintenance are adequate and advise on future liabilites for costs'.

Does this make sense to anyone as I am really confused.

Thanks in advance for your reponses.

Yasmin

cattie

It's a standard statement made by surveyor's regarding leasehold property. It just basically means that your solicitor needs to check lease thoroughly for any covenants, ensure that there are no major works in the pipeline or monies owed for past work etc. And also that the building is managed effectively & insurance provision in place.

For leasehold property it's always best to estimate a timescale of between 12-14weeks from offer/survey to completion. Anything less is a bonus, but if there are queries raised by your solicitor concerning the lease then the time scale could be a little longer if having to wait on replies.

Yasmin02

Hi Thanks I am realy confused now becuase hte property i am buying is a share of freehold 50% so i am not to sure why the surveyor is refering to leases...or is this something that is in place as well?

Yasmin

cattie

Yasmin, even though your flat is share of freehold it still has a lease. Share of freehold just means that all owners have a share of the freehold & thus manage the leases of each individual property & manage the mantainance, repair & upkeep & insurance of the whole communal parts of whole building.

As you appear to have a 50% share with just one other flat then this simplifies the arrangement. If there are 3 or more flats involved then it's usual for a management company to be set up & some owners chosen to be directors of said company.

When a lease is running low you each just grant each other an extension of an agreed period & agree between yourselves what service charges need to be paid. I think I may have recommended this site to you before, It really can help explain the ins & outs of owning leasehold/share of freehold property. http://www.lease-advice.org

Yasmin02

Hi Cattie

Great thank you very much i have visited the website before but to behonest I think i am having a bit of a thick moment! As i cannot see now the advantage of buying a shre of freehold property v a normal leasehold property..?

When i spoke to the owner she said that she held the freehold but had to legallyoffer the rest of the freehold to the person who lived upstairs (as this is how the law works). But she siad everyting was 50/50 for all communal things but we would need to insure our individual flats as such...

Is this a quite complex legal situation can anyone help>

Thanks in advance

Yasmin

Doozergirl

A flat needs a lease because it needs an agreement amongst all flats that they will provide each other with the right of support and protection. It basically mean that upstairs can't legally remove the roof, downstairs can't take out their walls! That agreement, along with other things, comes in the form of a lease.

If you abolished the lease, you would effectively have two seperate freeholds where each could do as they wished to the detriment of the other. Hardly fair in a flat!

When you buy share of freehold, the freehold is assigned to a company and the leases remain as they were, assigned to you. You buy a 50% share in the freehold company and therefore, a 50% share of the freehold by default

The benefits of owning the freehold almost eclipse being a leaseholder, especially when someone else has already paid for that freehold.

Lease extensions cost next to nothing and when you do extend, you increase to 999 years to prevent extending again (for a while anyway!).
You have autonomy to shop around for insurances and maintenance contractors, also to decide what maintenance is required and when.
You choose your own sensible service charge if indeed you pay one at all, you might just take responsibilty for keeping day to day things maintained yourselvese.
You decide whether to save together for repairs or whether to find the money as and when required.
You don't pay anyone money for 'managing' a property for you - almost pointless in a small block.

Convinced yet?!

It's not complex to your solicitor

Yasmin02

Hi Dozzergirl

So as far as I can make out and according to the seller. They both have leases but have not extended them becuase the owner bought the freehold. So does this mean that I will need to extend the leasehold them myself. I assume the leasehold sets out who pays for what so if the roof falls in we pay 50/50 etc. Is this correct? I understand how good it is to obtain a shre of freehold but it just seems veyr complex to me I think i am making out to be more dificult than it is. So should I sitll allow for 12 - 14 weeks for conveyancing then as well?

Thanks very much

Yasmin