Advice on joint freehold

lilyp

Good morning,

I am hoping there might be a few people who can offer advice.

We are looking for a buy to let and we are interested in a property that was a large terraced house now split into 2 maisionettes (1 x 2 bed, 1x 1 bed). The development has just been completed and decor/location/yield on the 2 bed ticks all our boxes.

Every time we’ve asked about lease arrangements the estate agent has said oh we don’t know the details, it will be set up as the sale goes along. All we know is that it will be a shared freehold with the one bed.

I have been warned that this set up can be very tricky if the owner of the 1 bed is not amenable. Ie - if the roof is leaking and they refuse to acknowledge it or pay there’s not much that can be done. So much so that we have been advised it’s just not worth the risk.

I did ask our solicitor if anything rang alarm bells but she said it was hard to know until the set up process began.

The 1 bed is not sold yet and we can’t afford to buy it as well sadly.

Anyone experienced similar ? Any advice very gratefully received.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Tell the EA you are interested but are not going any further until you at the very least have seen a detailed summary of the proposed lease terms and also how the freehold is to be set up.[/FONT]

eddddy

Many people see a joint freehold as a benefit - because you get a greater say in the running of the property.

But as you say, there is the risk that you get a 'bad' joint freeholder.

Although, if a 3rd party owned the freehold - they might be 'bad' as well, and not get roof repairs done, or overpay for roof repairs etc.

In your situation, a 'Declaration of Trust' between joint freeholders might be one approach.

See: https://www.lease-advice.org/article/share-of-freehold-when-joint-owners-should-consider-a-declaration-of-trust/

lilyp

Thank you very much for your replies.

Richard_Webster

If it is a BTL you want something clean without lots of potential problems.

You have said it yourself: "I have been warned that this set up can be very tricky if the owner of the 1 bed is not amenable. Ie - if the roof is leaking and they refuse to acknowledge it or pay there’s not much that can be done. So much so that we have been advised it’s just not worth the risk. "