Do I need a structural survey on a leasehold flat?

lombrozo

I read somewhere that with leasehold, the property owner only 'owns' everything INSIDE the property, and the exterior is managed by the management company... therefore would I need to bother with a full-structural survey for a leasehold flat I'm buying?

zarf2007

lombrozo wrote: »

I read somewhere that with leasehold, the property owner only 'owns' everything INSIDE the property, and the exterior is managed by the management company... therefore would I need to bother with a full-structural survey for a leasehold flat I'm buying?

nope, just make sure they have a sinking fund with enough money to cover major repairs and a monthly service charge. Also ideally a 3rd party maintenance company should be used to maintain the block..and make sure buildings insurance is in place(Your solicitor will get all this info from the mgmt company including previous and future maintenance expenditure).

Run a mile from blocks which say they pay as and when things arise, it just means they are disorganised and you are likely to be hit by a 20K bill for the roof at some point in the future.

katejo

lombrozo wrote: »

I read somewhere that with leasehold, the property owner only 'owns' everything INSIDE the property, and the exterior is managed by the management company... therefore would I need to bother with a full-structural survey for a leasehold flat I'm buying?

In my previous leasehold property this was not the case. Responsibility for major repairs such as roof repairs was with the leaseholders to be shared. Since I sold up, they have had a subsidence problem. With any property I would have at least a homebuyer survey. Just after I bought the leasehold place, I had to pay for a new roof.

hazyjo

Unless they can inspect everywhere (other flats, etc), you prob won't be able to have a full structural survey anyway. I'd opt for a homebuyer's though...

Jx

Snakey

I didn't bother because I was buying on quite a large estate where there has always been a steady turnover of flats and I figured that at least some of those buyers would have had a proper survey - if one particular block (or the whole estate) had a major structural defect it would probably be known about. A bit of a risk I suppose, but given my cash flow position at the time I didn't think too long about it. It hasn't fallen down yet and I've owned it for nearly two months now, so I'm ahead of the game so far...

I understand that Local Authority blocks are not allowed to build up a sinking fund and must collect capital contributions as and when needed, so the lack of one in that situation would not be due to lazy management (which is not to say it's impossible for such a block to be neglected and for shocking charges to be levied when they finally get around to sorting it out - your solicitor should ask for details of planned and anticipated future works, and it should be easy to find out when the big things like roof/lifts/communal heating were last "done", but this is only going to give you so much protection).

propertyman

The cost of external works ends up in your service charges, so its vital to look around the block or estate toss what hasn't been or needs doing. You ask your surveyor to extend the brief to address specific issues, though the lender or e on line chaps don't work that way and u need your own local chap, or chapess. See my thread in the faq sticky.

AndyGuil

Leaseholder owns everything but the land.

zarf2007

I understand that Local Authority blocks are not allowed to build up a sinking fund and must collect capital contributions as and when needed, so the lack of one in that situation would not be due to lazy management (which is not to say it's impossible for such a block to be neglected and for shocking charges to be levied when they finally get around to sorting it out - your solicitor should ask for details of planned and anticipated future works, and it should be easy to find out when the big things like roof/lifts/communal heating were last "done", but this is only going to give you so much protection).

Which is why I would avoid a local authority flat like the plague. Generally they take an age to maintain anything, use the cheapest maintenance men they can get (in order to pocket most the money), no doubt give the big maintenance jobs the old brown envelope treatment and you end up paying a massive amount for maintenance without any choice in the matter.

Snakey

Agreed, but at least that's taken into account when arriving at the price - it's not as if either of us are saying things that nobody else has ever realised. So it pretty much all comes out in the wash unless you don't do your homework and overpay because it really hasn't occurred to you.

I bought a lovely big two-bedroom ex-council flat for less than the price of a studio in one of the converted houses round the corner. Not that the potential works are the only reason for that, I'm sure - a lot of people just don't like that council house smell - but it's definitely one factor.

propertyman

AndyGuil wrote: »

Leaseholder owns everything but the land.

So in a block of say 10 flats, every leaseholder owns everything then???


You didn't think it through did you:rotfl:

AndyGuil

propertyman wrote: »

So in a block of say 10 flats, every leaseholder owns everything then???


You didn't think it through did you:rotfl:

They each own their flat which includes that part of the building. The freeholder only owns the land when there is a leasehold.