Freehold property turns out to be leasehold...

guzusan

I've seen this subject discussed before, but I'd like the most up to date information as those threads are from several years ago.

As the title says, 2 months into the buying process (and only apparently 4 weeks away from exchanging contracts), it turns out that my property might be leasehold, after being advertise and confirmed as freehold. 

My solicitor hasn't mentioned it directly to me, but has instead cc'd me on an email to the seller's solicitors:

Further to previous correspondence in this matter, we note on checking the Title that the Term of the Lease is only 69 years and as such may cause a problem for our Lender Client. Please therefore take your clients instructions as to whether they will extend the Lease prior to Completion at their expense.

Now, I'm not sure what they're saying here and can't contact them as it's now the weekend. I'm desperate to put my mind at ease. My solicitor is saying 'check the title', is it not certain about the leasehold then? Could it have been bought out and not updated? The Land registry is showing 2 results under the address, both freehold and leasehold. 

What is going on?!

NameUnavailable

Well it sounds like it's definintely a leasehold then. But it could be shared freehold. What kind of property is it and where is it?

davidmcn

Who owns the freehold? 

greatcrested

Before you agreed a price, what did the title you downloaded from the Land Registry show?

Slithery

You should have discovered this yourself when you downloaded the title plan before deciding to view the property.

guzusan

NameUnavailable said:

Well it sounds like it's definintely a leasehold then. But it could be shared freehold. What kind of property is it and where is it?

Semi detached house. The attached house is a leasehold. Which is why I wonder why the house I’d be looking to purchase shows freehold too. Perhaps something happened down the line and hasn’t been updated. What’s a shared freehold and how does that effect things? 

davidmcn said:

Who owns the freehold? 

No idea. Just got that mysterious CC’d email from my solicitor, who then didn’t reply to my immediate response and has since clocked off til Monday... 

greatcrested said:

Before you agreed a price, what did the title you downloaded from the Land Registry show?

I’ve only just done the free search, not the £3 title search. I relied on the estate agent actually telling the truth, amazingly. Had no idea they’d even put freehold if they didn’t legally know for sure...! I find that astounding. 

guzusan

Slithery said:

You should have discovered this yourself when you downloaded the title plan before deciding to view the property.

As above. FTB and had absolutely no idea you shouldn’t trust that the property is as advertised... like with every other advertisement ever. 

greatcrested

guzusan said:

NameUnavailable said:

Well it sounds like it's definintely a leasehold then. But it could be shared freehold. What kind of property is it and where is it?

Semi detached house. The attached house is a leasehold. Which is why I wonder why the house I’d be looking to purchase shows freehold too. Perhaps something happened down the line and hasn’t been updated. What’s a shared freehold and how does that effect things? 

davidmcn said:

Who owns the freehold? 

No idea. Just got that mysterious CC’d email from my solicitor, who then didn’t reply to my immediate response and has since clocked off til Monday... 

greatcrested said:

Before you agreed a price, what did the title you downloaded from the Land Registry show?

I’ve only just done the free search, not the £3 title search. I relied on the estate agent actually telling the truth, amazingly. Had no idea they’d even put freehold if they didn’t legally know for sure...! I find that astounding. 

Buy the Title. Now. Here. Then you'll know!

If there's a leasehold title, there will be a freehold title too, so buy both (£3 each). Wjile you are at it, buy the Title Plan(s) too (another £3 each). Cost is peanuts in the scale of things. Check the name of the registered owner of each against the name of your seller.

Share of freehold is most common with flats where each flat owner has their own lease, and they all share ownership of the freehold to the building.

guzusan

Okay so I purchased the freehold title review document – it has the seller’s name as the ‘registered owner’.

is this good news? 

greatcrested

Well almost certainly that is what he is selling you. But it begs the question, why did your solicitor say "the Term of the Lease is only 69 years."

Was there also a leasehold title available?

GDB2222

Okay, your seller has a lease for 69 years, but he also owns the freehold. So, really these two interests need to be combined into one. The email about extending the lease doesn't appear right.

Can I ask how you found your solicitor? Is this really a solicitor? You can check here:
https://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/?Pro=True

Only, at this point, I'd be really seriously concerned about the competence of the person dealing with this on your behalf.