Flying freehold over cellar

kel83

Hi all from a long time lurker.

My partner and I are looking at purchasing a house with a flying freehold and it sounds a bit unusual to me so I'm after some opinions/advice.

The house is Edwardian. It was split into two semis in the 1960s and the current vendor has told the estate agent that she has all the deeds, agreements etc in place from the original split. Since the house was split, there have been four owners including next door, who moved in in April this year, and everything is fine.

The situation is:
"Our" bathroom is over their kitchen.
The cellar under both properties belongs to next door.
They also have an attic conversion that is partly on top of "our" first floor.

I have read that some mortgage lenders will lend when a flying freehold is less than a certain percentage, but if "our" house is fully on top of their cellar, I'm concerned that the flying freehold percentage may be too high.

We are obviously going to talk to our mortgage people and solicitors, but I'd be grateful for any opinions or experiences from the community.

stator

That does sound complicated. It would be easier to get a mortgage if the house was leasehold with a 50/50 split on the freehold.
You might need an experienced mortgage broker to find someone who would lend.
Have you asked the seller who their lender was?

G_M

You need a mortgage broker (or try posting on the mortgage board).

Only a few lenders will lend on Flying Freehold.

And even they will want to be reassured that there are proper legal agreements in place between the two property owners as to liability for repairs & maintenance, and resolving any issues/disputes.

kel83

Thanks both. We have used London and Country for a previous aborted sale, so we will be using them again. The owner has all of the documentation and legal agreements, and I'm reassured by next door's recent purchase.

I haven't asked the seller who their lender was, thanks, that's a good point.

Mossfarr

All of my rental properties are ex council with flying freeholds - its just the way they were built!
Never had any problems getting mortgages - the % of the property affected is quite small though.
mossfarr

kel83

Thanks Mossfarr. It's the % that I'm most concerned about. I think if it was a passageway or something like that it would be OK.

Lord_Baltimore

Buy a different house. Why take the risk? It could end up costing you an arm and a leg.

kel83

I agree that it's risky. What specifically do you think would cost us an arm and a leg? I'm mostly concerned about resale potential (which could cost us money) and our ability to get a mortgage.

HouseBuyer77

One of the risks with properties that may or may not be mortgagable is lenders do change criteria. What may be morgagable with say 30% of available lenders now may prove to be hard (or easier) to lend on in the future. A more standard property is less likely to have such changeable mortgagability.

Lord_Baltimore

kel83 wrote: »

I agree that it's risky. What specifically do you think would cost us an arm and a leg? I'm mostly concerned about resale potential (which could cost us money) and our ability to get a mortgage.

The potential for structural unknowns. What is the physical condition of (the walls of) their kitchen?; what is the repair status of the cellar? My guess is you don't know. You could be presented with an unexpected and crippling repair/renovation bill.

Flying freeholds are a legal minefield. Buy a house you have full "control" over.

kel83

Thanks both. We are tending to agree with the fact that the risk is too high.