Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Purchasing a Freehold help
Hi all
I have read through a few threads here and I know alot of your have experience with purchasing freeholds and going through the process of doing it all.
I have a question with regards to how to split the cost of the freehold.
I have about 150 years left on my leasehold and the owner above has around 80-90. With this in mind, I feel like I should pay less for the freehold as I don't need to pay for a lease extension for sometime. The owner above wants to go 50/50 split on the cost but I am not convinced I should be paying for 50 percent of it because of the length left on my lease.
I own the ground floor with garden, and he owns the top floor. I also know he wants to do a loft conversion hence why he wants to buy the freehold. I also want to do some minor work, and in our current situation I have to pay a fee to the freeholder for any changes I do.
Currently I pay around £175 for ground rent + management fee with buildings insurance on top of that at around £250 per year.
What are other experiences in this situation?
Tags for Forum Posts: freehold
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Philip on
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An interesting question. You do seem to be the one in no hurry and indeed the loft conversion would probably require your agreement in the event of a freehold acquisition. I think you might be advised to agree to consult legal advice on the matter and agree to split the cost of this. I have had good advice from Layzells of Muswell Hill but I'm sure other people can recommend also.
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Permalink Reply by Nanz on
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Hi Joe, i updated the original post, we pay around 175 for ground rent + management fees + buildings insurance on top of that.
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Permalink Reply by tulips on
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I don't know who owns the freehold of your flats at the moment but it's not always best to buy the freehold, it depends on the circumstances. People always think it's best to have a share of freehold, but that can be a mistake. Estate agents always think share of freehold is great, but they do not understand the law. If you have a good freeholder, it can be better to have that separate protection in the event that another leaseholder breaches the lease or wants to do building works which may have a detrimental effect upon you. The owner above can't buy the freehold without you so you are in a strong position. Don't be pressurised into buying the freehold if it's of no advantage to you or is a disadvantage. The owner above will need to at least get a lease extension, so that's why he's thinking of the freehold option, particularly as he wants to do a loft conversion. (A starting point for share of cost of freehold is your current apportionment percentage share of service charges). Based on what you've said, I don't see the advantage to you of buying the freehold - avoiding fees for minor works is not a strong reason. In any event, it's always best to take legal advice.
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Hi Justine
Thanks for that reply. Our freehold is looked after by a property management company.
The current issue I have is that every time we do some work to our place I have to pay a legal fee to get our leasehold agreement updated.
For example, I need to install an extractor fan in the Kitchen as we don't currently have one. So on top of the £300 or so I was going to pay for the fan, I was told I had to pay ~£400 to the company managing the freehold as they had to make an adjustment to our leasehold agreement.
As far as I understand, if we own the freehold and the above owner wants to do some work, then I need to agree to it before it can go ahead.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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That is ridiculous Nanz. It all depends on the terms of your lease but you should not have to have the lease adjusted for minor works such as your fan. I was going to say that they are ripping you off, but I better not
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Yeah John its ridiculous indeed.
I found we had mould in our kitchen cupboards and with a newborn in our place I contacted the management company stating that I needed to get the fan installed for health reasons.
They pointed me to a section in our lease agreement that stated that I couldn't make any structural alterations or additions without their permission along with a fee that I needed to pay to them which I thought was quite unfair.
I had to end up buying a dehumidifier which I have to run in order to keep the humidity down to prevent the mould from growing.
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Couldn't you have the fan installed in a window ? Ventaxia or similar. That wouldn't be structural.
Yes, fair enough if you were going to make a hole in an outside brick wall.
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I did suggest that to the management company but they didn't like that idea. They prefered it to go through a wall.
They are almost impossible to get hold of as well which is well frustrating.
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Permalink Reply by Betty Careless on
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Completely sympathise, mine charge for any kind of interaction, every e-mail and phone call is itemised and charged for!
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Permalink Reply by pamish on
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Seconding what's said elsewhere, http://www.lease-advice.org does what it says. It's a govt-funded independent advice centre, for free when I used them a decade ago.
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