Restrictive Covenants on a FREEHOLD property with a management company

Maffy52

singhini said:

My house was built in 1998 and it has similar covenants such as:-

You cannot have a commercial vehicle parked on the drive
You are not to keep livestock
No satellite dish on the front elevation of the property
No for sale sign for the first two years

Now, the  "for sale sign" is the only one that specifies a timeline, none of the other covenants do. Ive always wondered if they ever expire, if so when? 

A quick internet search suggests they last indefinitely. 

Generally, restrictive covenants on property do not automatically expire; they can last indefinitely. They are tied to the land and remain in effect unless legally removed or modified. While some covenants might have a stated time limit, most are designed to be perpetual and binding on future owners. 

Thanks, it is mildely re-assuring to realise that these things seem common place.
Yes, according to my solicitor they never expire unless they have an explicit expiry in them.
They will also pass on to the new owner who must agree to them all for the sale to proceed...

Maffy52

Flugelhorn said:

I live on a Barratts estate with a management company who take no notice at all of any of these sorts of things:
who is the management company? 

Thanks, good to understand how these things REALLY work, what a joke!

The management company is something generic ('Estate Management Company Ltd') but the people who are contracted to do the work are a company called GROUND SOLUTIONS. Did a quick search about them, they have terrible reviews!

Flugelhorn

Maffy52 said:

Flugelhorn said:

I live on a Barratts estate with a management company who take no notice at all of any of these sorts of things:
who is the management company? 

Thanks, good to understand how these things REALLY work, what a joke!

The management company is something generic ('Estate Management Company Ltd') but the people who are contracted to do the work are a company called GROUND SOLUTIONS. Did a quick search about them, they have terrible reviews!

Barratts (an all other companies) want the place "looking nice" while they are still selling, after that they are not interested and the management company does the minimum

Maffy52

SarahB16 said:

Mortgage companies will also wish to know of any restrictions on title and this may deter some mortgage companies. Only adding this so you also consider whether these restrictions do reduce the number of financial institutions who will offer a mortgage.  

ooh, yes, important, I didn't think of that as I don't have a mortgage!...

Flugelhorn

Maffy52 said:

SarahB16 said:

Mortgage companies will also wish to know of any restrictions on title and this may deter some mortgage companies. Only adding this so you also consider whether these restrictions do reduce the number of financial institutions who will offer a mortgage.  

ooh, yes, important, I didn't think of that as I don't have a mortgage!...

yes you need to look at a deed of variation - the usual situation is that the management company can 
convert your property to leasehold etc if you don't pay the management charge - the mortgage companies have an interest in the property and do not want this to happen - the deed can change things so that the management company have to give notice / details of debt to the mortgage company to enable them to protect the property. 

we got similar done even though we do not have mortgage, our solicitor advised us that most lenders were requiring similar (after some cases in about 2018) and it was better to get it done  in case we wanted to sell

WIAWSNB

On the other hand, do you really want next door to be an Airbnb with a hot tub, a caravan parked outside every second house, daily angle grinding from next door's garage, knickers flapping in the wind...
The in-laws used to live on a Persimmons estate, with similar restrictive covenants. Next door sold, and buyer - prior to purchase - asked if it was ok to park a caravan outside the house. "Nope".
They still bought, and plonked the mother of all 'vans there. 'Legal' confirmed that the covenant couldn't be enforced unless Persimmons themselves were to do so, which they wouldn't. The estate management group did get the neighbour to comply with normal peer pressure, but wouldn't have been able to force the issue.
It's swings and whatsits. Although it doesn't bother me personally, I had to agree that the large 'van was a carbuncle on an otherwise tidy estate. 

red_boots2

WIAWSNB said:

On the other hand, do you really want next door to be an Airbnb with a hot tub, a caravan parked outside every second house, daily angle grinding from next door's garage, knickers flapping in the wind...
The in-laws used to live on a Persimmons estate, with similar restrictive covenants. Next door sold, and buyer - prior to purchase - asked if it was ok to park a caravan outside the house. "Nope".
They still bought, and plonked the mother of all 'vans there. 'Legal' confirmed that the covenant couldn't be enforced unless Persimmons themselves were to do so, which they wouldn't. The estate management group did get the neighbour to comply with normal peer pressure, but wouldn't have been able to force the issue.
It's swings and whatsits. Although it doesn't bother me personally, I had to agree that the large 'van was a carbuncle on an otherwise tidy estate. 

I hear AirBnB's with wood heated hot tubs are brilliant

Smalltownhypocrite

First house I nearly bought (fell through) stated it could not be used as a brothel, massage !!!!!! or house of ill repute.

The house I'm about to complete on states it cannot be used as a slaughter house.

Neither allowed for 'the brewing of beer' or 'intoxicated behavior'. 

Almost all I have seen clearly state WHAT could stand on the land (such as 'land for the purpose of one dwelling residence and no further erections without prior permissions' etc...). It's just funny sometimes what people where worried about 100 years ago. 

To be fair things like not storing rubbish up outside etc... sounds pretty fair though.

Smalltownhypocrite

Is !!!!!! really a censored word on here?

What if I said Funeral !!!!!!, Pizza !!!!!!, Ice Cream !!!!!!, Tattoo !!!!!! or Beauty !!!!!!?

Utterly bizarre, the word means 'sitting room' according to the dictionary lol.

Brothel however is fine lol.

Maffy52

Flugelhorn said:

Maffy52 said:

SarahB16 said:

Mortgage companies will also wish to know of any restrictions on title and this may deter some mortgage companies. Only adding this so you also consider whether these restrictions do reduce the number of financial institutions who will offer a mortgage.  

ooh, yes, important, I didn't think of that as I don't have a mortgage!...

yes you need to look at a deed of variation - the usual situation is that the management company can 
convert your property to leasehold etc if you don't pay the management charge - the mortgage companies have an interest in the property and do not want this to happen - the deed can change things so that the management company have to give notice / details of debt to the mortgage company to enable them to protect the property. 

we got similar done even though we do not have mortgage, our solicitor advised us that most lenders were requiring similar (after some cases in about 2018) and it was better to get it done  in case we wanted to sell

thanks, will look into this as sounds important. I did try to read the managment conditons, but it was about 40 pages of legal speak, just couldn't manage it.
 Did getting the deed added cost a lot to do?