Buying a leasehold flat to rent

Tom99

Mr_Big wrote: »

I can only hope that the government wouldn't want to screw you over in terms of charging for repairs etc.

:rotfl:


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I think ex-council flats are usually the ones where the tenant ends up with a demand for repairs running into £10,000's![/FONT]

Mr_Big

Well after doing some more research and taking in all the responses, I am now undecided on whether I actually want to go ahead and get a leasehold property lol. Thanks for all the insight, I'm glad I didn't just get excited and run into this blindly. I lastly just ask two questions: 1. Is there anyone on here who owns/runs a leasehold property successfully? If so please share as that will help to consider, and 2. If the leasehold are run by the local council, should alarm bells be ringing and to stay away?

Sorry to keep this going as long as it has, but I've got some really great help here.

Rosemary7391

somethingcorporate wrote: »

Except you can get both freehold flats and leasehold houses so not really sure it is comparing apples with oranges.


If you had a lift and stairs and the lift breaks you, of course, can wait until you can afford to replace it if you are freehold. If you are leasehold and it breaks you have to pay when the management co tell you to. If not they can put you in breach of your lease, get a charge on your property etc.


Freehold gives you the option of choice - you can choose how, with who and when you undertake repairs. Leasehold removes this choice.


If it were me I would save up and buy a small freehold house.

That's not quite true. If you have a lift in your own house of course you can choose when and even if to replace it. But if you have a lift in a block of flats, even if you're freehold, you'll still need to get it repaired pretty quick. My experience of freehold flats is that repairs are agreed on a majority basis, and once the majority agrees on a repair you've got no choice but to pay. It's not more flexible than leasehold, just a different arrangement with the same aim (get shared responsibilities taken care of promptly).





OP, if you want to buy a flat in England you're almost certainly going to have to deal with the leasehold thing. It's just the nature of living in a shared building. Important things are to make sure that work does get done and you can afford to pay for it (so if there is no sinking fund make your own, if they have major works upcoming allow for that when costing out your first couple of years, etc etc).

Norman_Castle

If the leasehold are run by the local council, should alarm bells be ringing and to stay away?

Leashold bills from council freeholders can be large but thats normally on blocks of flats.