Surveys on Leasehold Flats?

keithmdw

I am in the process of buying a leasehold flat/appartment.

It's 2 years old and on a large new development.

Bank has asked for basic survey and valuation. Is there any point in me paying extra for a more thorough servey bearing in mind I won't own the building and the responsibility for it's repairs will not be mine?

spottydog

I guess its really up to you depending on how you feel about the property and ,maybe also depending on what builders guarantee it has.

Whilst responsibility for the building may not be yours I would expect that costs of any repair works will be met by the leaseholders.

zzzLazyDaisy

spottydog wrote:

Whilst responsibility for the building may not be yours I would expect that costs of any repair works will be met by the leaseholders.

This correct. Where there is an abnormally costly item to be repaired, the management company will seek a contribution from all the owners. I bought a 2 yr old apartment a few years ago. At the time, the gates to the communal car park were not working. The management committee told my solicitor that they were due to be replaced, but that funding had not been established yet. The developers had installed gates that were only recommended for individual drives, whereas this car park served over 100 flats. It was hoped that the developers would make a contribution, but, not surprisingly, they refused, as all the flats had been sold and they were no longer involved in the management. So the management committe asked for a contribution of £250 (ie over £25000!). They gave no information, or costings, and the owners refused. When I left 18 months later, the gates were still not working, and the management committee were still 'looking into it'.

Of course a more detailed survey probably wouldn't have helped in that case, but it shows you what can happen.

However, at least with a new development, you have the comfort of the NHBC guarantee.

And, of course, the building will be insured (though on that point, do check whether any excess is payable in the event of a claim - a friend bought a ground floor apartment and was plagued by kids throwing things at the windows. The glazing was insured as part of the buildings policy, but there was a £75 excess, so it wasn't worth the paper it was written on).

Sorry if this all sounds like doom and gloom. I bought my flat, just had the basic survey, and was very happy there. If I was in the same position again, I'd probably do the same again - for me, it was cheaper than renting, and at the time was my only chance to get on the property ladder.

I would say one other thing - often you can get terraced houses for as cheap or cheaper than apartments. In today's market, it might be worth looking around.

cattie

If you were buying an older property then it would certainly pay you to have a homebuyers survey at least. But on such a new property I personally would't bother.

Norma_Desmond

I echo what LazyDaisy just said - be VERY careful when buying leasehold property......I used to own a flat where the Freeholders consistantly overcharged us and we ended up paying over £2,500 for replacement windows that we didn't agree to have. We WERE entitled by law to see a breakdown of costs and a detailed invoice for any 'major works' that were planned, but we ended up just wanting to move, so we paid up without going to the Ombudsman for Housing for help, which is what the Leasehold Advisory Service recommended. Go for a terraced house if you can - at least you'll actually OWN your windows and the land your property stands on!

keithmdw

Thanks everyone.

We're happy that the maintenance company won't rip us off. It's a regeneration area and the charity doing the regeneration are the ground landlords and maintenance company. They are trying to encourage growth and investment, not rip people off unlike a lot you read about. Reports of people who have had cause to use the maintenance have been very good.

I think we will probably not bother with a more detailed survey.