Purchasing A Council Property

Norma_Desmond

Hi Tony - just a word of warning about leasehold ex-council flats; friends of ours bought theirs under RTB and everything seemed rosy at first, until the service charge invoices started to arrive - within the first year they were billed £2,500 for replacement windows and even had to cough up £400 for a new shed door (yes, you heard me correctly!). Unlike 'normal' leasehold flats you can never even buy your share of the freehold either, so, according to said friends, it's like having a landlord breathing down your neck even tho' you own the property. from what I've heard, leasehold = rip-off in a lot of cases!

Happy_saver_4

Tony_H wrote:

Are all flats sold on a lease basis? If the answer is yes then im going to end up with a seriously unhappy wife!!

All flats should be sold on a leasehold basis.

Flats normally have communual areas, they share a roof and share the foundations. All these items repair costs must be shared, in some way, amongst the leaseholders ! The only way to realistically enforce these costs and conditions are via a leasehold agreement.

If the flats were freehold too many problems about access, rights of way and sharing costs are created.

michaels

However with rtb the landlord will be the local authority who has less incentive to keep repair costs down - I have heard cases where they councio figure is 50% above what might normally be expected.

divadee

We bought an ex council flat when the previous owner had used right to buy. I can disagree with the service charges being extortionate. Ours were the cheapest around by far!!! £110 a year for ground rent and the most the service charge in one year was £280.
The only thing is if they decide the block needs a new roof or other major works then you could end up with a hefty bill!!! We thought we might of had problems selling ours, as when you did the searches it came up that they were thinking of changing the roof. But we knew about this and were very honest from the start about it.

If you could buy freehold i would recommend it. At least then you can do works when you want not when the council want.

Tony_H_3

The hunt for a house goes on. I have seen a house in an area which is quite nice but the house itself is made from metal (top floor) bearing in mind I will be looking to purchase the home we move into should I be concerned about this type of house. I don't personally like the look of it, but its the most suitable so far.