On the whole are people not buying high rise flats, even if the flat is on the 2nd floor.

PickledPepper1

Hi, there's this wonderfully priced high-rise, 2nd-floor, flat in London and I have been advised that among many other reasons, people are not buying in tower blocks because of Grenfell. If I bought this flat would I be able to sell it at the other end?

EssexHebridean

If a property is exceptionally well priced, there is likely to be a reason for that.  The Building Safety Act 2022 is causing a LOT of problems at the moment with leasehold flats, so it could be as simple as it's been on the market for a while not moving and the seller now just wants shot of it. 

i_like_cats

I think lots of flats still have unresolved cladding issues and are unmortgageable.  If they’re ex-council and you’d be living alongside council tenants, and responsible for inflated scheduled works (which the council tenants don’t have to contribute to), then that’s another reason they’re unattractive.

Here’s an example of a cash only flat which may have those issues:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/155618210#/?channel=RES_BUY 

user1977

The floor you're on isn't particularly relevant (other than it's more feasible to escape from the 2nd floor than the 20th).

EssexHebridean

i_like_cats said:

I think lots of flats still have unresolved cladding issues and are unmortgageable.  If they’re ex-council and you’d be living alongside council tenants, and responsible for inflated scheduled works (which the council tenants don’t have to contribute to), then that’s another reason they’re unattractive.

Here’s an example of a cash only flat which may have those issues:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/155618210#/?channel=RES_BUY 

It's a myth - at least theoretically, that leaseholders pick up the bill for council tenants shares of major works - the council freeholder will cover that share. That said, we did pick up any number of things when our major works were done where it was apparent that the council were not being entirely straight about that aspect! 

i_like_cats

EssexHebridean said:

i_like_cats said:

I think lots of flats still have unresolved cladding issues and are unmortgageable.  If they’re ex-council and you’d be living alongside council tenants, and responsible for inflated scheduled works (which the council tenants don’t have to contribute to), then that’s another reason they’re unattractive.

Here’s an example of a cash only flat which may have those issues:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/155618210#/?channel=RES_BUY 

It's a myth - at least theoretically, that leaseholders pick up the bill for council tenants shares of major works - the council freeholder will cover that share. That said, we did pick up any number of things when our major works were done where it was apparent that the council were not being entirely straight about that aspect! 

Well it happened to a friend of mine in Southwark.   Bought a 2-bed property and got hit with a hefty five figure bill soon after.  His neighbours did not have to pay a penny and just smoked skunk all day etc.   The council may have paid their share for them in some sense, but it seemed very unjust.

Here’s a thread on the topic:

https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/48449-ex-council-repair-costs-southwark-council/

EssexHebridean

That doesn't indicate that the leaseholders were paying extra and subsidising anyone though. 

It's a bit like when you rent a property and the boiler fails - as a tenant you don't expect your landlord to demand the cost from you, do you. No - the LL covers the cost as it is his property. If you own your property though, you will expect to pay that bill though.

i_like_cats

EssexHebridean said:

That doesn't indicate that the leaseholders were paying extra and subsidising anyone though. 

It's a bit like when you rent a property and the boiler fails - as a tenant you don't expect your landlord to demand the cost from you, do you. No - the LL covers the cost as it is his property. If you own your property though, you will expect to pay that bill though.

Yes I understand the council tenants don’t own anything which is why they don’t have to pay.   As one poster puts it:

“Of course the council tenants pay nothing despite the new motors in the car park. Southwark sees leaseholders as a cash cow.”

But also it makes sense why private buyers would be well advised to steer well clear of blocks of flats where the council is the freeholder.   

To get back to the OP’s thread, many of these blocks will be high rise too, giving another reason why they’re undesirable.  Though you’d hope by now many of the cladding issues have been sorted out, I don’t think all have.