Just found out house we're buying is leasehold. Help!

Prinzilla

hazyjo wrote: »

The thread mentioned above:
I'm not sure it would be applicable to us as there's no garages to block and it's quite a large area, you could comfortably fit 4 cars on the drive. I'll definitely check how its written with the solicitor though, thanks for the tip

hazyjo

Prinzilla wrote: »

I'm not sure it would be applicable to us as there's no garages to block and it's quite a large area, you could comfortably fit 4 cars on the drive. I'll definitely check how its written with the solicitor though, thanks for the tip

Was more for the others looking for it. Had guessed the parking would be all out the front and shared.


Just a thought, if it's literally shared and there's no marked spaces allocated to each property, what would stop your next door neighbour parking several cars in the entire area? Is there any 'forced consideration' written into that lease or are you relying on courteous neighbours now and in the future? Can you imagine a family like my sister who have 5 cars between them (all in same house) all living there? Hmm.

Prinzilla

hazyjo wrote: »

Just a thought, if it's literally shared and there's no marked spaces allocated to each property, what would stop your next door neighbour parking several cars in the entire area? Is there any 'forced consideration' written into that lease or are you relying on courteous neighbours now and in the future? Can you imagine a family like my sister who have 5 cars between them (all in same house) all living there? Hmm.

I've no idea, I haven't seen the lease yet. I've been to the house multiple times and the owners only seem to have one car and we've never had an issue parking so it's not something I'm concerned about at the moment, priority is sorting the lease.

teddysmum

Why not ask one of the neighbours, who purchased their house , how the lease/free hold situation worked for them ? It's an excuse to meet the neighbours, too.

Wobblydeb

Prinzilla wrote: »

The EA is confident the lease is with the HA who owns the other half of the property at present. Apparently they're a non profit organisation so he's said he thinks the rent will be minimal and they won't be able to sell it on.

The EA will say all sorts to ensure the sale goes through. The rent could be £££s per year, and the HA may choose to sell it on for all he knows.

Stick to your guns, and don't get pushed to continue with the purchase if it is not what you want. Tell your solicitor to stop work, so that no further fees are incurred. Now tell the agent you are withdrawing your offer unless the owner is able to purchase the freehold prior to sale. You will not find out their true position until it looks like you will not proceed with the current arrangement.

It may be worth losing the costs you have already incurred, but all may not yet be lost. The house we purchased was leasehold when advertised, and took the owner several months to purchase and resolve a complicated leasehold structure. It cost them several thousand pounds. We however bought a freehold house.

hazyjo

Agree with Wobblydeb re the EA. In situations like this, don't believe a word that comes out of the EA's mouth. If they are insistent, get them to put it in writing as fact. They'll soon back down.

Kernel_Sanders

Prinzilla wrote: »

What could I have read up on?

That the offer should have been for the freehold of the land the property happens to be standing on. Didn't I just explain that?

muz3562

Prinzilla wrote: »

I've no idea, I haven't seen the lease yet. I've been to the house multiple times and the owners only seem to have one car and we've never had an issue parking so it's not something I'm concerned about at the moment, priority is sorting the lease.

I appreciate you have other pressing concerns right now . But just because the current neighbours only have one car does not mean that a family with 5 cars wont move in or buy one the other houses which has access to this shared parking area .



This kinda thing happened to me when a casual used car salesman bought a property next to one I was renting . Fortunately I only had to endure it for 4 months before the tenancy agreement run out and I got away as fast as I could .

Kernel_Sanders

muz3562 wrote: »

This kinda thing happened to me when a casual used car salesman bought a property next to one I was renting . Fortunately I only had to endure it for 4 months before the tenancy agreement run out and I got away as fast as I could .

Why didn't you report him to the LA for running car sales from a residential property?

Cloth_of_Gold

I can understand that your priority is sorting out the lease but before you decide whether or not to go ahead you really should consider the possibility that the neighbours might change and bring about the sort of problems that others have outlined. Of course, everything might always be fine with the shared drive but there is a risk that it won't be. If you are prepared to take that risk then fine but that should be a conscious decision. Good luck.