Should we run a mile-Really strange 'flying freehold'?

Running_Horse

ds1980 wrote: »

If you own the freehold to something then basically you own from the ground to the moon!

I thought it was the ground to the centre of the earth, and that the queen owns it.

Flying freeholds are also quite common on some types of council house.

chappers

If this is a flying freehold situation is there not a covenant in place stating what the garage can be used for.
We had a house with a flying freehold situation, our living room was over next doors cellar and there was acovenat in place saying that the cellar could basically only be used for storage.

kunekune

The other thing you could maybe do is see if you can negotiate to buy it back, in exchange for some kind of license to use it as long as they live in the house? I can't believe your purchaser's lawyer allowed them to do this in the first place - wasn't it explained what it was going to do to the resale value of the house?

pmcx9

i doubt you will ever have problems;

you could move into a house and have dreadful neighbours who are driving in and out of their garage at all hours.

just because a garage is on your land doesnt mean you will have any problems.

I would go and have a chat with the garage owners and size them up and if it seems ok then offer real low for the house!

ds1980

Running_Horse wrote: »

I thought it was the ground to the centre of the earth, and that the queen owns it.

Flying freeholds are also quite common on some types of council house.

Check out the real tennis and racquets club in new york. They sold their "air space" for millions so that no one cold build above them. It is situated on park lane and has only 5 storeys i think when there are dozens of 10o storey skyscrapers around them.

oldMcDonald

A friend of mine lives in a council maisonette with a garage underneath which is rented by someone else. He hates it. If the renter of the garage wants to work on his car he does so in the garage and they get the exhaust fumes in their lounge which is above it. The council have tried all sorts to stop the smell but they cant.

He hates living there because of this, whilst the renter of the garage only does this once every month or so, it has become something that they continually worry about due to the stress they feel when he does.

Personally, if I was buying a house, I wouldn't want to be in any situation where someone could walk onto my property at any time it suited them, and certainly not for car access / garage use due to the stories I have heard from my friend and his neigbours (who are in a similar situation).

Richard_Webster

To go back to OP's original point, did he check whether the sale off was done by the grant of a lease because that is what should have happened. Then there would be no flying freehold because the freehold would all still belong to him.

As far as covenants are concerned, then if there were covenants imposed about not using it other than as domestic garage etc then these would normally be enforceable against anyone who owned the garage at the time.

The problem with a true flying freehold is that there is a need for positive covenants to keep the lower part of the structure in repair so as to support the upper and the upper part so as to protect the lower and these positive covenants are not enforceable against subsequent owners just because they own the land.

General_Mayhem

The flying freehold in itself is not something to be overly worried about. It will be a bit more work for your solictor, but nothing out of the ordinary. You will need an indemnity policy for it, but that should be provided by the previous owner.

That said, the practicallity of owning a property over somebody else's garage might put you off. Do you like the property enough to put up with it? The asking price might already reflect this, but have you factored it in to your offer?

palmeras69

If the garage has been sold freehold and not on a long lease (which, depending on the terms of the lease would be fine) then the only practical option if you still wish to proceed is to obtain indemnity insurance but everything will need to be disclosed to your lender. They may decide not to proceed (some lenders will not lend on flying freeholds in any circumstances).

Please also bear in mind that indemnity insurance is not a magic solution - insurance is usually full of exclusions and is only as good as the underwriting! You should also remember that exactly the same issue may come up when you come to sell. Your indemnity insurance MAY be transferable but your purchasers and/or their lender may decide not to proceed anyway thus reducing your potential market to sell to.

chappers

kunekune wrote: »

I can't believe your purchaser's lawyer allowed them to do this in the first place - wasn't it explained what it was going to do to the resale value of the house?

Whats it got to do with his lawyer why should he know anything about the housing market.

Lawyers for legal stuff
Accountants for money