How to find out if a property is leasehold?

Kayalana99

Bit of a strange one.

We had appointments booked in to view a few houses and realised our area (North Sheffield) has a lot of leasehold properties so rang and asked if they were leasehold.

This particular property is up with 3 estate agents and we were told it was leasehold, we cancelled this appointment but since then the price has been reduced, and we are more up to date with the rules of leasehold/freehold and were considering putting an offer forward with view to purchasing freehold later if possible.

We have rang a different estate agent and asked the question how long is left on the lease, to be told it is a freehold property.

I was told to search here; https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk

and happy to pay the £4 fee but unsure what exactly I am looking for, as the search function brings up two reports, one for leasehold and one for freehold, so does this mean it is leasehold? Or would it show up that way even if the owner had purchased the freehold?

ThePants999

If you've found a lease, it's at least technically leasehold. However, if the lease and the freehold are owned by the same person, and they're willing to sell you both, it's essentially freehold.

Kayalana99

Thanks, I purchased both freehold and leasehold and the names do not match and it has a 61 year lease.

I guess this would make it a no go by anything other then cash buyers given mortgages seem to want them above 70 years.... also an online calculator says it would cost anywhere between 17k-22k to buy the lease which seems excessive.

ThePants999

Yes, that's definitely an issue. There's a significant difference in value between a lease that's going to expire in 61 years versus owning a property outright, so unless you feel that difference is fully reflected in the asking price AND you can find a mortgage lender willing to lend on that short a lease, it is indeed a no-go.