New build has freehold AND leasehold?

AdrianC

pedrom wrote: »

I don't really know...I guess not, because it would be my building which sits on the ground? I don't really know how much of this works!

But it's not "your building". You would have a lease to occupy one part of it, same as the flat owner would.

The building and ground belongs to the freeholder.

kingstreet

Typically, the coach house is freehold and the freehold is owned by the coach house flat owner.

The garages underneath are then subject to a lease.

Nationwide criteria, for example;-

Coach house flats
Coach house flats are acceptable subject to a satisfactory valuation. A coach house flat is a freehold flat which is the only flat in the block and is built above garages and/or an access way.

hazyjo

It is very common with new builds and I've had the same thing.


Negative - you'll have to pay a yearly sum as you know.


You'll also prob have to pay for a management pack when you sell. That will prob be a few hundred quid.


I suppose it would put some off, but if they're buying fairly new elsewhere, they'll probably experience similar things.


My fee covered the insurance and I think maintenance for the garages (I had 2 and there was a flat above), and estate/grounds maintenance.

pedrom

Ok. Thanks everyone for your input. It's a little clearer now.

So essentially, it's leasehold for both the garage owner and the apartment owner, in order to protect ourselves from each other. If the lease is under a reputable name (the property/site agent) then everyone knows they won't get screwed over (or at least a lower risk of such). Clear.

So...avoid or not avoid? Is there anything I should ask for from the property managers to make it better for me before buying? Am I likely to have a hard time selling up in 10, 20, 40 odd years time?

AdrianC

pedrom wrote: »

So essentially, it's leasehold for both the garage owner and the apartment owner, in order to protect ourselves from each other.

More a case of neither of you "own" the entire building, so there has to be some way of organising it.

If the lease is under a reputable name (the property/site agent) then everyone knows they won't get screwed over (or at least a lower risk of such).

The only thing that matters is what's actually in the lease. That's the contract between the leaseholder and the freeholder. Even if the freeholder changes - you or the flat owner buy it from the developer, say, or A.N.Other company buys it - the lease is unchanged.

rijack

So...avoid or not avoid? Is there anything I should ask for from the property managers to make it better for me before buying? Am I likely to have a hard time selling up in 10, 20, 40 odd years time?

Maybe it might make it more tricky.. but I guess only you can decide if it's a deal breaker.
Are there same / similar properties around without the coach house scenario?

pedrom

rijack wrote: »

Maybe it might make it more tricky.. but I guess only you can decide if it's a deal breaker.
Are there same / similar properties around without the coach house scenario?

Unfortunately, no. We're sort of running out of viable time too. So it looks like either this property, or hold off for a year.

rijack

Perhaps it's worth a quick call with a solicitor to check if it WILL actually impact future sales.
Given the fact it would be a mix freehold and leasehold is why i imagine it would..

Perhaps someone on here knows more about the legal / conveyancing side of it

davidmcn

It's pretty commonplace, there have been several threads here in the past where a remote garage has been leasehold. It will complicate dealing with the property a bit but it's hardly rocket science, just some extra work.

Bear in mind that leasehold doesn't mean they have to charge a significant amount of rent. What happens to the rent after 25 years?

Tiglet2

I'm a conveyancing assistant and see this quite often. It shouldn't cause too many problems when selling on. It's simply that the building in which the garage is situated cannot be owned as a freehold property, as there are other properties within the building (i.e. the flat above), so you have a lease for the part you own. Whether or not you/the freeholder/the management company own the freehold of the whole building, the garage would still be subject to a lease.

Not difficult to sell, just that there will be a freehold title for the house, a leasehold title for the garage and a freehold title for the building in which the garage is located. Providing you are named on the freehold title for the house, the leasehold title of the garage and the landlord is named on the freehold title for the building in which the garage is located, then it is all in order for a new purchaser. Additional costs may be a management pack/LPE1 for the management company/landlord to complete, slightly higher fee for the leasehold element of a sale and obtaining one or two more documents from Land Registry.