Ex local authority flat please help

[Deleted User]

user1977 said:

[Deleted User] said:

Bookworm105 said:

if it looks like ex local authority design then it is ex local authority design
does that have any bearing on the mortgage? NO !!!!

So this section of the lending criteria is only reverent to someone buying from the local authority in the first instance?  I 

"Ex local authority, housing association or MOD flats are acceptable to 85% LTV (but not for shared ownership"

really don't mind the hole local authority designation, tbo i thought if I have to buy a leasehold the council being the freeholder gives me some protection from huge ground rent increases 

No, you'd be looking for things relevant to "right to buy" purchases if you were buying from the council (which is a whole separate bunch of restrictions).

Like I said above, this is an ex local authority flat, and it will never stop being an ex local authority flat.

The terms of the lease are what dictate any future ground rent increases, it doesn't change depending on who the freeholder is.

Lenders will be concerned about service charges (given councils tend to push through whatever improvements suit their own housing stock) and perceived poorer marketability within "council" blocks (obviously that's a bit chicken-and-egg if buyers have trouble getting mortgages...).

So basically my mortgage advisor should not have recommended that lender, so I'm ether going to have to find more money for the deposit or find one that's happy with a 10%

And I'm assuming the the valuation is not going to be over the agreed price?  

user1977

The lender will always use the lower of the valuation or the price you're buying at.

And yes, I'd expect a broker to have guided you through the lenders' various criteria.

gwynlas

The flat will always be ex LA. The problem is that if the LA remains the freeholder and if there are stll LA tenants in other properties,

The service charges are likely to be higher as contractors have to adhere to LA coonditions re tendering for contracts

theartfullodger

It's always ex-council.  Obvs.  I've owned 4 ex council houses, still own one, all fine, probably better built than most cheapo developer 'ouses.  And the neighbours are usually nicer than owner-occupiers banging on about house prices and the daily wail's most recent headlines .IMHO. .

Best wishes to all.

[Deleted User]

user1977 said:

The lender will always use the lower of the valuation or the price you're buying at.

And yes, I'd expect a broker to have guided you through the lenders' various criteria.

So I checked with my broker and they have sent me a copy of an exchange with lender saying 90 is fine as long as the valuation is okay, fingers crossed for that the guide price was 90 and I offered 82. 

RelievedSheff

theartfullodger said:

It's always ex-council.  Obvs.  I've owned 4 ex council houses, still own one, all fine, probably better built than most cheapo developer 'ouses.  And the neighbours are usually nicer than owner-occupiers banging on about house prices and the daily wail's most recent headlines .IMHO. .

Best wishes to all.

You have perhaps been lucky. 

Our previous house was ex local authority and we had terrible neighbours. The house has sold 3 times in the 6 years since we part exchanged it against our current home, which seems to suggest that the new string of owners would agree.

It was also a terribly built house which probably went some way to explaining the wholly unacceptable levels of sound transmission between the two properties.

RedFraggle

Ex LA flats can have massive bills for works under section 20 notifications. Make sure it isn't going to have a problem 

[Deleted User]

RedFraggle said:

Ex LA flats can have massive bills for works under section 20 notifications. Make sure it isn't going to have a problem 

Section 20 of what act please would help to know where to look init

Yorkie1

[Deleted User] said:

RedFraggle said:

Ex LA flats can have massive bills for works under section 20 notifications. Make sure it isn't going to have a problem 

Section 20 of what act please would help to know where to look init

It's the process where the freeholder consults with / notifies leaseholders about major works coming up.

Buying flat with section 20 notice — MoneySavingExpert Forum

DullGreyGuy

[Deleted User] said:

RedFraggle said:

Ex LA flats can have massive bills for works under section 20 notifications. Make sure it isn't going to have a problem 

Section 20 of what act please would help to know where to look init

 Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985

They have to inform of any works that will cost each leaseholder more than £250 per unit in advance, normally its a 3 step process to tell people what's being done and why, then who they are going to ask for quotes and then finally what the quotes were and therefore what the cost will be. 

Most the time they are fairly modest but at times they can be crazy... was the press story a few years ago of £146,257 bill landing on someone's doorstep, they thought that was the total bill and they'd have to pay a share of it but actually that was their share of a £27m bill to do work on the 225 unit tower block. 

Sometimes they can be challenged, the same article points to another case where leaseholders argued the councils works amounted to enhancements not maintenance.