Legal Advice

PaulC5

My current house is exacly the same, we were young and naive buying our first home and just signed where anyone told us to.

Now im a little older (4yrs older) and slightly wiser I am reading in detail. Not once have I thought I was living in a house that wasn't technically owned by me in the 4 years Ive lived where I am.

Is it really something not to worry about as the majority of new build estates are set up like this and works fine?

Has there been any real horror stories of people being kicked out of there home for not abiding to the lease agreement yet still have to pay off there mortgage debt?

AdrianC

PaulC5 wrote: »

Am I missing something?

I am buying a New house off Redrow. I will be paying Redrow the house price agreed by means of 5% deposit and the rest on a mortgage.

I then have to pay a leasehold on the ground rent, this is the thing I am talking about.

You are paying Redrow the right to live in that house for whatever period. Your lease probably also says you have the responsibility to maintain the building, because you have exclusive use of it.

If/when that lease period expires, you will find out who really owns the house.

PaulC5

For example it says you cant park large vans over a certain length at the property along with no satellite dishes viewable from the road yet you see all these on most new estates.

Does the landlord (Redrow) turn a blind eye to most things but could technically tell you not to?

AdrianC

PaulC5 wrote: »

For example it says you cant park large vans over a certain length at the property along with no satellite dishes viewable from the road yet you see all these on most new estates.

Restrictive covenants like that are different to leasehold/freehold.

Our old house had a stack of restrictive covenants set by the original developer of the area (late 19th century), but was freehold.

PaulC5

I'm sure they do it on purpose so that its not clear to the buyer.

All this information is in a 25 page document using all legal jargon.

Why don't they make it clear and easy for Joe public to understand?

AdrianC

PaulC5 wrote: »

Why don't they make it clear and easy for Joe public to understand?

Because "clear and easy for Joe Public" leaves lots of room for lawyers to argue and disagree.

libf

PaulC5 wrote: »

My current house is exacly the same, we were young and naive buying our first home and just signed where anyone told us to.

Now im a little older (4yrs older) and slightly wiser I am reading in detail. Not once have I thought I was living in a house that wasn't technically owned by me in the 4 years Ive lived where I am.

Is it really something not to worry about as the majority of new build estates are set up like this and works fine?

Has there been any real horror stories of people being kicked out of there home for not abiding to the lease agreement yet still have to pay off there mortgage debt?

Firstly, you need to establish if the house is leasehold, or if the house is freehold and you're paying for maintance of a shared area (e.g. greenspace, shared driveway, etc). You should be able to find this out yourself if you have copies of the land registry documents, or you could just ask your solicitor. (You have a solicitor, right?)

Then you need to decide if you're happy with this arrangement.

This may help you understand the title registry copy if you've got this: http://freeconveyancingadvice.co.uk/sale-purchase/official-copies-land-registry

Not all new build houses are leasehold. I am buying one which is freehold. However, some of the houses which are built off the main roads have to pay maintenance for the the area of unadopted road in front of their houses. They are still freehold, but they have to join a maintenance company and contribute yearly ground rent and then for repairs as required.

Dan-Dan

I would think that this is all easily cleared up and explained , with a discussion with your solicitor op?

PaulC5

libf wrote: »

Firstly, you need to establish if the house is leasehold, or if the house is freehold and you're paying for maintance of a shared area (e.g. greenspace, shared driveway, etc). You should be able to find this out yourself if you have copies of the land registry documents, or you could just ask your solicitor. (You have a solicitor, right?)

Information from my solicitors:

• The house is leasehold
• There is Ground Rent of £250 per year which gets reviewed every 10 years from 1st January 2015 and is adjusted by multiplying it by the RP Index last published immediately before each review.
• There is also a separate Maintenance Charge of £186.73 in respect of the common parts on the development which can also increase if they see so fit.

Is this all standard on new developments these days?

AdrianC

Certainly one of the more common setups, yes.