survey on an ex-council flat?

hellolondon_2

I'm just in the process of buying an ex-council flat in London and am wondering whether it's worth bothering with a homebuyers survey. As it's leasehold we aren't responsible for paying in whole for repairs to the roof etc. and the flat has just been redecorated.

Only concerns are that the walls might need replastering as the wallpaper was just painted over, and that there is a leak in the roof.

Any advice would be great! Also if you have any recommendations for good surveyors in London (our valuation surveyor couldn't even count the number of floors in the building correctly!).

Thanks!!

BigAunty

Sorry, I may have misunderstood the process, but I thought the big issue with buying ex-council properties is that leaseholders do actually get clobbered with huge bills when the roof is replaced, lifts repaired and common areas redecorated whereas the tenants don't pay a penny? The freeholder (the council) simply divvies up each and every bill by the amount of properties and then sends the proportionate share to every owner? Who do you think will pick up the bill for repairs in the common areas?



Forgive me if I've assumed wrongly, I'm sure someone else will be along to confirm or correct me.

Tim_Kenny

My advice would always be to have a Survey no matter what you are buying. The important thing to remember about buying a flat is that you do not control when the work is done so you dont control when you pay for it. If the service charge is set correctly then there should be a Reserve Fund which will cover all work that could need doing but if not then you could end up with some very large unexpected costs.

It is especially important to have a Survey if it is a large block, and the Surveyor miscounting the floors suggests it might be. Although there are more flats to contribute the costs are much higher. This is especially true if the building is over a couple of storeys high as then you start to need specialist access equipment.

No matter what it is always best to know as much as possible about what you are buying.

For a good Surveyor you could look for an RPSA member. As a new member I am unable to post the link but if you Google RPSA it is the first result. It is a relatively new organisation set up because the RICS is not really interested in residential surveying anymore.

Snakey

Ex-council blocks do not operate a sinking fund, so the cost of repairs is divvied up as and when required. So the main risk is that you buy and then two years later the lifts need replacing and a year after that the roof needs doing and a year after that they put in new windows. As part of the due diligence on the purchase your solicitor should be asking about any known or planned works in the near future. Asking the neighbours might also help, and taking a look from the outside gives you a good indication of when the roof was last done etc.

What does a surveyor add to that? I'm not so sure. They won't look at any parts of the building not accessible. They'll do the inside of your flat and for everything else they'll rely on guesswork (which is a lot more educated than your guess, but it's still only a guess) based on the type and age of the property etc.

With property prices in London these days a potential couple of grand to sort out a few imperfections on the inside stuff is a drop in the ocean - chances are you won't get the buyer to knock it off the sale price anyway. ("You want me to pay for replastering? How about I just sell to one of the other four people who offered above asking price?")

Check recent sales - hopefully they won't all have been to people who didn't bother to get a proper survey done, and so if you're paying about the same as everyone else you're probably OK.

tl;dr: I didn't bother and am keen to justify my decision. Time will tell whether it was false economy.

Tim_Kenny

The problem with relying on being informed of any planned works is that this only really covers works over a certain value and for which consultation is required by way of a S20 notice (check the Leasehold Advisory Service website if you would like more details on these).

Even if the Freeholder know the lift and roof will need replacing in a couple of years they are unlikely to have to disclose this under standard enquiries. They may answer further questions but they will charge for this and you may still not get all the answers you want.

tea-bag

As for the survey don't bother save the money for any repairs you might need. Do basic checking yourself example check the electrics see how old they are see how old boiler is. I will never own a ex council flat again. If I didn't own it outright over the last few years I would have been screwed the amount I have had to pay out. They are now talking about new roof and new windows.

heytoki

BigAunty wrote: »

Sorry, I may have misunderstood the process, but I thought the big issue with buying ex-council properties is that leaseholders do actually get clobbered with huge bills when the roof is replaced, lifts repaired and common areas redecorated whereas the tenants don't pay a penny? The freeholder (the council) simply divvies up each and every bill by the amount of properties and then sends the proportionate share to every owner? Who do you think will pick up the bill for repairs in the common areas?



Forgive me if I've assumed wrongly, I'm sure someone else will be along to confirm or correct me.

So, if they need to replace the roof or any other major work, the council will divide the total bill just to the flats owend privately?

Lets say that there are 60 flats in a block where 40 are privately owned. The other 20 are council tenants. There is a total bill for 100k. That amount is divided by 40 or by 60?