Deed of Variation

canyon2026

Yes - I believe that's the Forfeiture Risk covered. They never really explained why they wanted a DoV and at the time I didn't realise what an issue it would become.

The Buyer was actually a cash buyer for the Flat at £300k and I believe the Solicitor just wanted to be thorough. I think now it was just the Forfeiture side of things that was really a concern as it would have been a problem for a Mortgage Lender if one had been involved.

The Buyer is probably lost now but this should mean I can get the Estate Agent to readvertise the property without having to worry that everyone will be asking for a DoV.

poseidon1

In order to keep an eye on the progress ( or otherwise) of the much vaunted leasehold reform provisions, I refer to the HomeOwners Alliance for updates - below

https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/ground-rent/

Given that most first time flat buyers will have little or no knowledge of what they are getting into, their decision making will be affected by whatever catches their notice via popular mass media, and whatever guidance their conveyancer chooses to impart.

In this regard a property with an escalating ground rent (and the negative press surrounding them) will be off putting for most prospective buyers until such time the government actually implements legislation for the outright ban on exsisting escalating leases ( this seems at least 2 years away).

In the meantime for affected leaseholders who wish to sell now, their freeholders can ( as set out in the article above) hold them to ransom with expensive lease variations, or the leaseholder embark on a lease extension to reduce ground rent to zero. Either way there is an 'exit' cost to the prospective seller at the moment.

OP, escalating ground rents are now an emotive issue you will find difficult to rationalise away if you don't want to take action to address it yourself.

eddddy

canyon2026 said

The Buyer is probably lost now but this should mean I can get the Estate Agent to readvertise the property without having to worry that everyone will be asking for a DoV.

Unless there is something you haven't mentioned - the flat should be saleable with its current ground rent. But the price probably needs to reflect the high ground rent.

And FWIW, it sounds like your freeholder/landlord is trying to rip you off by asking for £15k.

A lease extension might be nearer to £7k to £10k (assuming you currently have a nice long lease).

So a competent estate agent might present the flat to buyers like this (I'm using made-up numbers)…

"If this flat had zero ground rent, the price would be £320k"

"But because it has £300 per year ground rent doubling every 25 years, that brings the asking price down to £300k"

"So if your max budget is £300k, this is a great opportunity to buy a flat that would otherwise cost £320k and would be out of your price range."

"Then you have a few years to save up £10k needed to get a lease extension to reduce the ground rent down to £0"

So you might find that you're better off selling it without paying £10k plus fees for a lease extension, because it makes the flat more affordable.