buying lease

richierich007

hi all bit help req
i`m wanting to buy my lease for my house as its 49 years left remaining, the co that owns it i`m reading horror stories online (shenstone properties) am i better off instructing a solicitor to start the work off or is this something i can deal direct with shenstone
and 1 final thing whats the aprox fees for a solicitor to do this and how long will it take aprox

da_rule

Given that you already own the lease and you want to buy the freehold, I’d be inclined to say you need a solicitor. The exact wording of things matter when it comes to enfranchisement matters.

richierich007

yeah thats what i mean i wana buy the freehold!
btw will i own the freehold eg i can charge the new owners if i sell the house i can charge them ground rent or does it belong to the house (mortgage free)

Slithery

Is the freehold to your house even for sale?

Do you have any idea how much it will cost?

da_rule

There is a statutory right of compulsory purchase for leaseholders of houses. The process and valuation calculations can be quite in-depth so given the OP’s apparent lack of understanding about the difference between freehold and leasehold and what acquiring the freehold would mean I would recommend they get legal advice.

eddddy

If you've owned the lease for 2 years, you've probably got the statutory right to compulsorily purchase the freehold.

See details here: https://www.lease-advice.org/advice-guide/houses-qualification-valuation/

But if there's only 49 years left on the lease, it might be very expensive.

richierich007 wrote: »

btw will i own the freehold eg i can charge the new owners if i sell the house i can charge them ground rent or does it belong to the house (mortgage free)

Well... yes... if you own a freehold house, you could sell a lease on it which pays you ground rent.

But nobody ever does that. It's not worth the hassle, the cost, and the difficulty selling.

richierich007

cheers all... neighbour got theres in the summer 5.5k, expecting the same, been in this place over 25years, still no forward to prices for solicitors

ThePants999

Did your neighbour have the same amount of time left on their lease? 5.5K seems surprisingly cheap when the lease has only 49 years left.

zagubov

I agree that £5.5k sounds very cheap; you could easily be facing many tens of thousands of pounds.

Having said that, if you purchase it, you will want to sell the house with freehold, as it'll sell much more easily. With 49 years left, very few people would be interested or even able to buy from you.

tetley

I lived in a house with a ground rent of £1 a year, I wanted to buy it within the guidlines of the law, which is ten times the annual rent. My solicitor wanted around £600 for doing it, as you have to pay the other parties cost's as well i expected the same. However they came back with nearly £6000 in costs. Needless to say we never bought it.

Tom99

Email say 5 local solicitors for a quote, but you need an RICS expert in leasehold enfranchisement 1st to give you some idea of how much you should be paying.
The amount you will pay the freeholder, and their costs, is going to dwarf you own legal costs so you are worrying amount the wrong thing at the moment.