Buying a shared ownership home

jovisd79

Hi all, hope someone can help, this is bit of an unusual one. We are currently in the process of buying a house. The house was a 50% shared ownership with previous owners, they left their share to their son. We are buying the 100% freehold. As I understand it the son is staircasing to 100% and then simultaneously selling to us, this has all been agreed but the housing management company that own the other 50%.
The issue I have is that our solicitors have sent us the home buyers legal report and it states " the interest you are buying is the leasehold". It then later in the document goes on to confirm the staircasing plan. Now I'm obviously not a conveyancer but I believe at no point are we buying a leasehold as the seller will own 100% and the freehold when he sells to us. I've questioned it with the solicitors but they say it's correct and no need to change it. I just don't feel comfortable signing something with a statement that I don't believe is correct. Had anybody had similar situation of buying 100% of a current shared ownership home? 

gazfocus

Could you not just ask for it in writing that once you 'complete' you will own the freehold as well as 100% of the property?

kingstreet

You may be purchasing the 100% interest in the leasehold property and the freehold separately.

eddddy

Is it a Housing Association property?

Many HAs will automatically transfer the freehold, once the leasehold owner has staircased to 100% ownership.

It's probably worth contacting the HA to ask them how the process works, when you staircase to 100% at the same time as purchasing. 

jovisd79

eddddy said:

Is it a Housing Association property?

Many HAs will automatically transfer the freehold, once the leasehold owner has staircased to 100% ownership.

It's probably worth contacting the HA to ask them how the process works, when you staircase to 100% at the same time as purchasing. 

The thing is, the way I understand it, the seller is staircasing to 100% so he will have the freehold to sell to us, that's why I don't understand why the solicitors have stated im buying the leasehold. I'll speak to them again on Monday but it's just added stress, cheers guys

eddddy

jovisd79 said:

The thing is, the way I understand it, the seller is staircasing to 100% so he will have the freehold to sell to us, that's why I don't understand why the solicitors have stated im buying the leasehold. I'll speak to them again on Monday but it's just added stress, cheers guys

The Housing Association will deal with the staircasing and transferring the freehold - it will all happen on completion day.

It would be daft for the Housing Association to transfer the freehold to the seller, and then the seller transfer the freehold to you, all on the same day. So I imagine that the Housing Association will just transfer the freehold direct to you.

The Housing Association (or their solicitor) will work with your solicitor on this.

If you ask your solicitor about this, the following will probably happen...
- your solicitor will ask the seller's solicitor
- the seller's solicitor will ask the seller
- the seller will ask the Housing Association

So it might be much quicker if you ask the Housing Association how it works, and get the ball rolling.