Freehold flat?

LittleFawn

Due to circumstances I have to buy fast and I want a new build, and I’m a first time buyer.

I am relocating to Glasgow (from England) and I am only interested in freehold property.

Last night i finally found a flat that’s within my timefram when I asked they explained that it was freehold.

However they want me to pay service charge.

How can I ensure that this is a freehold property? I havnt enlisted a solicitor yet, I’m still in the “interested in” stage.

Nebulous2

Property in Scotland is different. It is almost all really freehold - leasehold doesn't exist in the same way.

Modern housing estates with communal land / shared areas can fall into disrepair very quickly and getting a management agent in place helps to make sure grass is cut, bulbs are changed etc. Paying them for their services doesn't mean it is leasehold.

You can do very little in Scotland without a solicitor. One catch can be if you need a mortgage the solicitor needs to be on the lenders panel. Get quotes for fees from 3 or so solicitors who specialise in conveyancing. The market is quite competitive and pricing can vary quite a bit.

davidmcn

Engage a solicitor now. Then you're ready to get moving, and you can lift the phone and ask them daft questions at any stage.

All residential property in Scotland is freehold (with exceptions so rare they're not worth mentioning - certainly all flats in Glasgow are freehold).

All flats will have some sort of communal liabilities, if only ad hoc payments for repairs. Generally flats in Glasgow have professional management companies ("factors"), especially more modern developments. They are appointed by the owners of the flats, so you have much more control than would be the case in England - there's no third party freeholder trying to make a profit out of you all. If there are factors then they'll at least have a regular admin charge for keeping things ticking over, and there may be other costs depending on what is done (e.g. cleaning, gardening, sometimes a communal buildings policy).

You should ask for and read the Home Report for any property you're interested in - among other things, that gives more details of how the block is managed.

Owain_Moneysaver

Property factors in Scotland have to be registered and you can check online to see who the factor is for a property.

LittleFawn

Thank you so much guys. I understand much more about it now!