buying a freehold

dizzzyqueen

Ok this is my first post and not sure if its in the right place etc so go easy please..

I bought my house on 1 sept this yr, and was told I had to pay ground rent at £10 per annum..
I have received a letter from solicitors today saying..
We are instructed to act on behalf of the owner of the freehold reversion of your property. We have been instructed to dispose of the freehold reversion and have been asked to offer you the opportunity to purchase at £150. In addition to the price quoted are our legal fees of £200 +vat.

Anyone put this in normal language for me.. any advice?

dizz

trafalgar_2

It basically means they are offering to sell it to you....................should you wish to buy it.

You won't pay them ground rent then because you will own it
I take it your home is leasehold now ???

Don't do anything without taking proper advice though so you know exactly what your getting and what happens it you don't buy

dizzzyqueen

Thanks
yes my house is leasehold now.
It seems sill that the solicitors fees and more than the cost of the freehold.
Also if it stayed at £10 per annum I would have to live here for 40 yrs to benefit.

Woby_Tide

you've got factor in that when you sell, selling a leasehold will cost more than a freehold so you'll be paying solicitors at that point anyway. FWIW, I'd have thought a Freehold property generally also has more marketable value than leasehold

Rafter

Owning the freehold gives you total control over the property and does make it more sellable. The investment will probably pay off in terms of the value of the property increasing.

As to what you should pay for it, it depends on the rent, the length of lease outstanding and what roles the landlord currently undertakes for his/her £10 per year.

£150 suggests it is a fairly long lease with little terminal value (that is the value of the property when it returns to the landlord at the end of your lease).

You probably need a solicitor of your own to make sure all the documents are in order and to advise you of any risks.

So the total bill might be around £750. You have to decide if it is worth it to you. They may reduce the price a bit if you show little interest.

dizzzyqueen

So to buy my £150 freehold could cost me approx £600 solic fees...?
Thats ludicrous, but i suppose if its worth it in the long run i will have to do it.
thanks

trafalgar_2

No you don't have to do it though if you don't want .................as you have only just bought the property anyway.

If you don't buy it they can sell it on but they can't sell it for more than they offer it to you...................if you don't buy it your lease stays the same......................and later if you want to buy it , you can within certain conditions

So don't buy it now if you don't want to...................it is possible to stop it being sold to anyone...............you can negotiate it down too...............you don't have to accept their price.............but it could get costly as people say with solicitors fees etc.


Personally unless I was selling my house on ,I wouldn't bother :-/

There is some really good info here..........

http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-193.cfm

Definately worth a read then you can decide what's best for you

Woby_Tide

but then theres no guarantee that in future they may increase price of freehold to be annoying, for the price it's a reasonably good deal I guess, just a shame they didn't say whilst you were buying as solicitor could have probably absorbed work a bit at same time

trafalgar_2

but then theres no guarantee that in future they may increase price of freehold to be annoying, for the price it's a reasonably good deal I guess, just  a shame they didn't say whilst you were buying as solicitor could have probably absorbed work a bit at same time

There are laws now to stop it being increased just because they want to ...............tribunals to make sure it's a fair price.

But it could be that now may be the best price................and the freeholder just wants rid :-/

Best to check out all the options before deciding.
Your right though a unfortunate they want to sell now.............it could of saved a lot of hassle and cost if done at the same time as purchase of property.

dizzzyqueen

Thanks that site is really helpful.
If it had been offered 4 wks ago when I was buying house, I would have just bought it.
But the money I have given to solicitors recently with divorce, and housebuying is ridiculous.
Think that i will buy it and thanks for all the help.

Robert_Sterling_3

BUY IT