Maisonette with Freehold

Jam1981

Hi,

I have read a few things on this forum but just wanted to check if anyone had the same situation as me before?

We have had an offer accepted on a maisonette which owns the freehold of the whole building. Below is a flat which is leasehold on a 999 year lease from 2005.

Can anyone tell me if this is a problem at all in regards to future sales with mortgages etc?  The vendor currently has a mortgage on it and we are cash buyers so no problem at the moment but just wondering for resale?

Also, I am awaiting reply from the EA in regards to maintenance costs liability etc.  Will the freeholder be solely responsible for maintenance of the whole building or will something be written into the lease for the leaseholder regarding sharing costs etc?

After reading a lot of articles, I'm not sure if this is a normal set up or a minefield of potential issues?

Thanks

eddddy

Jam1981 said:

Also, I am awaiting reply from the EA in regards to maintenance costs liability etc.  Will the freeholder be solely responsible for maintenance of the whole building or will something be written into the lease for the leaseholder regarding sharing costs etc?

The leases will say who is responsible for insuring, maintaining and repairing each part of the building - and who has to pay (how costs are split).

Typical leases for a house converted into 2 flats would say that the freeholder is responsible for insuring and maintaining/repairing the main structure of the building (roof, external walls etc) - and the leaseholders each have to contribute 50% of the costs.



But leases for maisonettes tend to be a bit unusual - is it two purpose built maisonettes, one on the ground floor and one on the first floor?

They sometimes say that

• the upstairs leaseholder is responsible for insuring and maintaining/repairing the top half of the building including the roof

• the downstairs leaseholder is responsible for insuring and maintaining/repairing the bottom half of the building including the foundations

Depending on what the lease says, being a freeholder might come with lots of responsibilities - so you might have to get to grips with a lot of legislation.

But some leases (especially for maisonettes) put very few responsibilities on the freeholder.

user1977

Does the maisonette you're buying have a lease? I think lenders are wary of cases where you have just the freehold (under exception of the other flat's lease) and there isn't also a lease in place for your flat.

Jam1981

Hi,eddddy said:

Jam1981 said:

Also, I am awaiting reply from the EA in regards to maintenance costs liability etc.  Will the freeholder be solely responsible for maintenance of the whole building or will something be written into the lease for the leaseholder regarding sharing costs etc?

The leases will say who is responsible for insuring, maintaining and repairing each part of the building - and who has to pay (how costs are split).

Typical leases for a house converted into 2 flats would say that the freeholder is responsible for insuring and maintaining/repairing the main structure of the building (roof, external walls etc) - and the leaseholders each have to contribute 50% of the costs.



But leases for maisonettes tend to be a bit unusual - is it two purpose built maisonettes, one on the ground floor and one on the first floor?

They sometimes say that

• the upstairs leaseholder is responsible for insuring and maintaining/repairing the top half of the building including the roof

• the downstairs leaseholder is responsible for insuring and maintaining/repairing the bottom half of the building including the foundations

Depending on what the lease says, being a freeholder might come with lots of responsibilities - so you might have to get to grips with a lot of legislation.

But some leases (especially for maisonettes) put very few responsibilities on the freeholder.

It is a 3 storey house that got split into a 2 storey maisonette and a ground floor flat in 2003 as far as I can tell from the Land Registry website.  

user1977 said:

Does the maisonette you're buying have a lease? I think lenders are wary of cases where you have just the freehold (under exception of the other flat's lease) and there isn't also a lease in place for your flat.

There is no lease showing for the maisonette that I have offered on, just the freehold which is what I was concerned about.