Leasehold property - freeholder might be local council - problematic?

greatcrested

Why not look at the Title(s) for the downstairs flat!? Then you'll know if the council own the lease to that or whether the lease is owned by the residents?

If the council own the lease, then assuming repair costs are split equally between the two flats (the lease will specify this) you and the council will pay half each.

the land registry are only sending out paper copies at the moment

The LR always send paper copies of leases- nothing to do with the current problems. It is only the Titles that are available electronically online.

But all of these matters come within the sphere of conveyancing. Your solicitor will obtain and read the lease for you, highlighting anything significant, + send you a copy.

He will obtain past acounts showing what servie charges have ben, and spent on what.

He will obtain details of any planned extra-ordinary expenses.

That's his job.

JeffMason

greatcrested said:

Why not look at the Title(s) for the downstairs flat!? Then you'll know if the council own the lease to that or whether the lease is owned by the residents?

If the council own the lease, then assuming repair costs are split equally between the two flats (the lease will specify this) you and the council will pay half each.

the land registry are only sending out paper copies at the moment

The LR always send paper copies of leases- nothing to do with the current problems. It is only the Titles that are available electronically online.

But all of these matters come within the sphere of conveyancing. Your solicitor will obtain and read the lease for you, highlighting anything significant, + send you a copy.

He will obtain past acounts showing what servie charges have ben, and spent on what.

He will obtain details of any planned extra-ordinary expenses.

That's his job.

They've told me recently that they could usually send out emailed copies but arent at the moment because of staffing issues to do with the pandemic. I did find that confusing, as I thought it would be easier to send only emailed copies at the moment. So maybe that was incorrect information.

I know that the solicitor will do all this, but I'd like, if at all possible, to get as many of these questions answered before I spend money on that, there are a few key things that will be deal breakers, and I don't want to have to keep getting all the way through that process and pay for it, when I could have been given the information upfront and walked away ealier. 

This is part of the reason why houses are easier purchases than flats, less complications in this regard.

NameUnavailable

There is good advice on this forum about how to proceed with a flat purchase - I will find the link.

I'm frankly amazed that estate agents can market flats and then claim they don't know how long a lease is for or what the service charges are - they are fundamental issues and DO affect the price of the property. I don't want to pay a solicitor to find stuff like that out for me, the vendors must know and the agents should make sure they have the information when asked.

NameUnavailable

Read this https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4754355/what-to-do-when-buying-a-flat/p1

Slithery

JeffMason said:
I've tried getting full leases recently (they are £7) but the land registry are only sending out paper copies at the moment and it takes too long for them to arrive. 

LR have only ever sent out paper copies. Nothing has changed 'at the moment'.

JeffMason

NameUnavailable said:

Read this https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4754355/what-to-do-when-buying-a-flat/p1

Really helpful - thanks!

JeffMason

Slithery said:

JeffMason said:
I've tried getting full leases recently (they are £7) but the land registry are only sending out paper copies at the moment and it takes too long for them to arrive. 

LR have only ever sent out paper copies. Nothing has changed 'at the moment'.

I just checked what they told me, and they just said they aren't sending them out via email "at the moment" and I took that to mean they usually do, but apparently that's not what they meant!

It is taking two weeks at least to get the copies though, and the last one I tried to get arrived after the property had sold to somebody else. 

JeffMason

greatcrested said:

Why not look at the Title(s) for the downstairs flat!? Then you'll know if the council own the lease to that or whether the lease is owned by the residents?

If the council own the lease, then assuming repair costs are split equally between the two flats (the lease will specify this) you and the council will pay half each.

the land registry are only sending out paper copies at the moment

The LR always send paper copies of leases- nothing to do with the current problems. It is only the Titles that are available electronically online.

But all of these matters come within the sphere of conveyancing. Your solicitor will obtain and read the lease for you, highlighting anything significant, + send you a copy.

He will obtain past acounts showing what servie charges have ben, and spent on what.

He will obtain details of any planned extra-ordinary expenses.

That's his job.

I got the lease for the downstairs flat and it turns out the owners bought it 20+ years ago (for about the cost of putting in a new kitchen and bathroom now) and I think they've been there ever since. They don't seem to do much upkeep though and everything looks very tired. I'm pretty sure it's a little old lady type living there and I'm not sure how they'd ever have the money to contribute to major works, which is a worry I suppose.

Flats are a real pain!

greatcrested

JeffMason said:

greatcrested said:

Why not look at the Title(s) for the downstairs flat!? Then you'll know if the council own the lease to that or whether the lease is owned by the residents?

If the council own the lease, then assuming repair costs are split equally between the two flats (the lease will specify this) you and the council will pay half each.

the land registry are only sending out paper copies at the moment

The LR always send paper copies of leases- nothing to do with the current problems. It is only the Titles that are available electronically online.

But all of these matters come within the sphere of conveyancing. Your solicitor will obtain and read the lease for you, highlighting anything significant, + send you a copy.

He will obtain past acounts showing what servie charges have ben, and spent on what.

He will obtain details of any planned extra-ordinary expenses.

That's his job.

I got the lease for the downstairs flat and it turns out the owners bought it 20+ years ago (for about the cost of putting in a new kitchen and bathroom now) and I think they've been there ever since. They don't seem to do much upkeep though and everything looks very tired. I'm pretty sure it's a little old lady type living there and I'm not sure how they'd ever have the money to contribute to major works, which is a worry I suppose.

Flats are a real pain!

So if major work is needed, the freeholder (council) will arrange it and will bill the two leaseholders - you and the little old lady - probably 50% each though you'd have to read the actual lease to see who pays how much.

If the little old lady can't or won't pay, that's not your problem. The freeholder will chase her for the money, via the courts if necessary, and ultimately possibly by taking back the lease and making her homeless, whereupon they (the council) will have to re-house the poor litlte old lady........

JeffMason

I asked some questions and actually got answers through the EA - the complete roof replace etc works that happened a couple of years ago haven't yet been paid for as the vendor are waiting for a final invoice. They say they've been given an estimate of the costs and are putting that aside with their solicitor. They made it clear that they would be responsible for this and not the future buyer. 

Any thoughts on this? Should I be concerned?