My new house is leasehold at a cost of £90 year and with 125 years left to run. There's a maintenance charge of £80/year as well.

My only experience is of freehold properties and I was wondering if anyone has any advice. Particularly, whether being leasehold might affect the saleability of the house, whether I could buy the freehold and how much this is likely to cost, whether I could be ripped off by anyone, whether the charges might increase etc.

It's one of the new build houses off Park Grange Road on Norfolk Park.

Thoughts/advice appreciated - thanks.

Ours is leasehold. It made us stop and think, but we liked the house and bought it anyway.

I'll be interested to read any info anybody else has

I currently live in a leasehold property that has about 800 years lease left, and that isn't a misspelling!!

Not cheap though.... £4 a year! :o

Originally posted by Briano
I currently live in a leasehold property that has about 800 years lease left, and that isn't a misspelling!!

Not cheap though.... £4 a year! :o

me too - 700 yrs - £10

Sounds like i'm already paying over the odds!

No. Thier house will be older. The groundrent is set when it's built, so it devalues.

It sounds like you have to pay for upkeep of something though, so yours may change

Originally posted by mrinvestigat
My new house is leasehold at a cost of £90 year and with 125 years left to run. There's a maintenance charge of £80/year as well.

My only experience is of freehold properties and I was wondering if anyone has any advice. Particularly, whether being leasehold might affect the saleability of the house, whether I could buy the freehold and how much this is likely to cost, whether I could be ripped off by anyone, whether the charges might increase etc.

It's one of the new build houses off Park Grange Road on Norfolk Park.

Thoughts/advice appreciated - thanks.

Like most others here my lease is 700+ years and the ground rent is so small its never charged. I our case i assume its just to ensure taht other houses which share access through our garden may continue to do so, and also that any maintainabnce costs of shared areas are met by all leaseholders... although i've never checked.

because yours is shorter (and costlier) it would be a good idea to enquire about a lease extention or buying the lease out completely as leases of under 100 years and especially under about 70 years can affect buyer confidence. likely wouldn't be too expensive to buy the lease out and might be worth considering depending on how long you intend to stay at the property

leasehold on houses that are much older tend to be much cheaper. I think Sheffield has a lot more leasehold properties than other cities, it's just one of those things. Often as leases come towards an end the leasholder will extend the lease for say another 100 years or so....but I think this is also seen as an opportune time for them to increase the ground rent.

For a new property a leashold charge of £90 per year isn't too bad. If you'd like to purchase the freehold interest you'd need to contact the leaseholder and ask if they are prepared to sell their interest to you. If they are in agreement to sell you'll also need to use a solicitor. I looked into doing something similar a few years ago and it was going to cost me around £2,000 so I didn't bother, especially given that my ground rent was only £4 a year.

One thing to bear in mind is that leases often come with restrictive covenants attached, so if you buy the lease to make it "freehold" the leaseholder may still maintain the restrictive covenants. Again for a fee some leaseholders will release some covenants, but this is probably less likely for new build properties given that the covenants have only recently been established and probably are there to protect neighbouring properties on the development...

To me leases are a bit of a grey area, say if there was a lease on the ground where your property is built for say 100 years, at the end of the 100 years what happens if the landlord decides not to extend the lease, and more interesting, what happens to your house? This sounds preposterous, but could the leaseholder insist it is demolished as he wants his land back???

I believe that there is a law which gives you the right to buy the freehold whether the landlord wants to sell or not. I think you have to have owned the house for several years first.

I don't think people are worried about shorter leases like yours - they are very common with new builds.

Also, as leases come near to the end, say 30/40 years left then you have the right to buy them or extend anyway and the cost is capped I understand.

you should speak to the council about the maintenance fee, certian properties in waterthorpe area had a similar fee attached which was meant to cover council services such asgrass cutting.the landlord never has to sell you the lease but he may do he could alo however sell it to someone else at any given time.as far as i am aware it doesn't give them any rights or in deed prevent you from doing anything to your home.

Have you tried reading your Lease?

Originally posted by davecontact
Have you tried reading your Lease?

Not yet as the purchase is currently going through so I don't have a copy of it yet.

Originally posted by mrinvestigat
Not yet as the purchase is currently going through so I don't have a copy of it yet.

You should make sure you get hold of this before the purchase goes through... and make sure you r solicitor breaks it down for you... legal jargon is hard to get through, but victorian legal jargon is near impossible.

Im pretty sure that after a period of time, the leaseholder will always give the lessee the option to buy the freehold for the property, and then if they turn down that offer, the leaseholder can sell it onwards.

I've just acquired the freehold on my house which I originally bought as leasehold. After I think it's now 2 years you have the right to buy the freehold, and there is a rough formula based on the annual groud rent that is used. However, the ground landlord can set the price, and if you think it's excessive you can go to a tribunal. What often happens however, as in my case, the landlord knows how much it will cost you to go to appeal, and will pitch the price so that it is just slightly cheaper to accept his offer. Apparently Sheffield is only one of 5 places in the UK where leasehold housing is common, so buyers coming from elsewhere might be put off buying if the property is unexpectedly leasehold. So whether it's worth it depends on how long you're likely to be in the house and how much that will cost you in ground rent. I didn't have the problem of charges so I don't know how that would affect it.

Algy - how long did it take for your purchase of the leasehold to go through?

I'm iin the process of buying mine and it seems to be taling ages, well over a year so far.

We're no longer being charged ground rent, which was minimal, because the process of buying the freehold has started.

The leaseholder tells me it's very complicated legally and that the wheels turn very slowly.

It is, however, frustrating that it's taking so long.

Dishwasher, it seemed a slow grind, we started in May 2003 and the purchase was finalised in January 2004. I suppose circumstances of properties may differ, but I didn't get the impression it was legally complicated, but the leaseholder didn't seem in any rush to move it along.

There is absolutely nothing complicated about it to be honest.

It's a simple Sale Contract and a TR1 form to the Land Registry. Don't forget your cheque, which should be something like 20 times the annual ground rent. All in all a couple of hours work for your solicitor.

If you then want to combine your leasehold and freehold titles its up to your solicitor to spend maybe another hour on your behalf - and nothing to do with your current landlord.

Tony,

It's not our solicitor that dealing with it.

The leaseholder has a number of leases on properties in Sheffield and has decided to offer each owner of a leasehold property the 'right to buy' and, I presume, the opportunity switch to freehold.

The package we agreed to was considerably less that 20 times the annual ground rent.

I have contacted the leaseholder (an individual not a company) and he has told us to sit tight, it's just a matter of time etc.

Will switching from leasehold have any affect on the overall value of the property?

To be honest, the freehold is something that you do for your own peace of mind. It has virtually no value.

I'm doing the same at the moment.

Originally posted by Tony
To be honest, the freehold is something that you do for your own peace of mind. It has virtually no value.

I'm doing the same at the moment.


But surely, no-one is going to buy a house with only 5 or 10 years left on the leasehold. Are they?

And do you still have rights to resell your house after the leasehold expires?

Well after a couple of years you can buy your freehold anyway. Ask your solicitor.

Hi

Be careful with leasehold properties!

I live in Hillsborough and I have a Ground Rent to pay (£10), Insurance (which I have to purchase thru them at the cover they give me about £50 a yr) and lastly I have a service charge (mine various each year dependant on work done etc I have had a bill for £1700 before and Ive got one coming up next yr for £2,000).

Leasehold is ok but I personally find that the council try to get out of anything they can. Ive had water damage to my buildings which has affected the living/dining area, they havent maintained the buildings and they didnt provide me with enough buildings cover so Im left to redecorate and I have to pay for it.

Just be careful - make sure you do read the leasehold contract and I would check if you are oblidged to take a block buildings policy, if so make sure you can select your level of cover!

You're talking about a different kind of lease. The one that we are discussing is a long leasehold, ie an effective freehold, as often found on domestic properties in Sheffield.

agree with tony here.

having your 'freehold', or 'title absolute' - the strongest form of ownership (unless you are the Queen).

freehold can have many benefits in a domestic dwelling, especially if you have to ask for the freeholders permission to change fences, boundary divisions, or have an extension etc.

what happened in the end?

We've just paid £750 to the leaseholders for it to go freehold. Maybe this is an option?

We've just paid £750 to the leaseholders** for it to go freehold. Maybe this is an option?
** No, you yourself are the leaseholder. I guess that you meant 'to the freehold reversioners'.

a longlease hold residential property is worth virtally the same as a freehold property as long as there is more than 50 years remaining. if you are in a posistion with less than 50 years remaining you can (under the leasehold reform act 1967) force the landlord to sell the freehold or come to an agreement to extend the ground lease for a further 50 years at a new rent (called a section 16 modern ground rent).

a good Solicitor or chartered surveyor should be able to advise accordingly.

My new house is leasehold at a cost of £90 year and with 125 years left to run. There's a maintenance charge of £80/year as well.

My only experience is of freehold properties and I was wondering if anyone has any advice. Particularly, whether being leasehold might affect the saleability of the house, whether I could buy the freehold and how much this is likely to cost, whether I could be ripped off by anyone, whether the charges might increase etc.

Thoughts/advice appreciated - thanks.

The only downside with newer properties like these, the freehold gets sold on to a professional freeholder which then tries to maximise it's revenue by requiring various 'admin' charges on 'notifications' if you want to pretty much anything.

It is slightly better now because they must be 'reasonable' or you can challenge them.

You just need to be dilligent about reading their 'demands' and don't be afraid of challenging them.

This non-profit organisation helped a lot (free!) when I was dealing with demands on a leasehold flat I owned: Lease Advisory Service (http://www.lease-advice.org/)

a longlease hold residential property is worth virtally the same as a freehold property as long as there is more than 50 years remaining. if you are in a posistion with less than 50 years remaining you can (under the leasehold reform act 1967) force the landlord to sell the freehold or come to an agreement to extend the ground lease for a further 50 years at a new rent (called a section 16 modern ground rent).
Sorry but you're wrong. Mortgagees generally refuse to lend on the security of a leasehold property if the lease has <70yrs. unexpired.

I realise this is an oldish thread, but the lease on my house is now 70 years - does anyone know how to go about extending it - or possibly buying the freehold (although I imagine this would be too expensive to bother with). Is this something you'd need a solicitor to do for you, or do you just call up the groundrent company yourself ?

I realise this is an oldish thread, but the lease on my house is now 70 years - does anyone know how to go about extending it - or possibly buying the freehold (although I imagine this would be too expensive to bother with). Is this something you'd need a solicitor to do for you, or do you just call up the groundrent company yourself ?

You would need a solicitor, but before you do that, contact the Lease Advisory link above, their services are free and will educate and point you in the right direction so you know you're not being fleeced by an incompetent solicitor.

I realise this is an oldish thread, but the lease on my house is now 70 years - does anyone know how to go about extending it - or possibly buying the freehold (although I imagine this would be too expensive to bother with). Is this something you'd need a solicitor to do for you, or do you just call up the groundrent company yourself ?
1. Have you owned it for at least two years?
2. If no, you have no statutory rights (yet); but try informal negotiation with the freeholder (F).
3. If yes, however, take your solicitor's advice about serving a Notice of Claim [Leasehold Reform Act 1967].
4. Buying the freehold reversion is always better value-for-money than extending the lease [statutory 50yr. extension; ground rent increases when the 50yrs. begin PLUS halfway through it].
5. NEVER just ask F what it will cost!

Can anyone recommend a good solicitor in Sheffield that would help us buy "freehold reversion" (thanks JS )
Thanks!

Er, you do own the lease. I think that you're seeking to buy the freehold reversion.
Please contact me direct if you'd like a quotation; I have sent a p.m.

www.lease-advice.org again it's one of those things you can do yourself I would have thought, like conveyancing and probate, both of which I've done myself, and many other things a solicitor will shroud in mystery, but which are quite straight forward actually.

Wrong again! Enfranchising usually involves cajoling an unwilling freehold reversioner into selling by enforcement of statutory rights [Leasehold Reform Act 1967] and, often, a detour via the ruinously expensive Leasehold Valuation Tribunal.

www.lease-advice.org again it's one of those things you can do yourself I would have thought, like conveyancing and probate, both of which I've done myself, and many other things a solicitor will shroud in mystery, but which are quite straight forward actually.

I would have thought that they might be straightforward if you're lucky with your circumstances - but if there's anything about the case which isn't bog-standard then you really need a trained, experienced professional to do the job properly.

But enfranchising is never 'straightforward'. In any case, enfranchising a leasehold house in mortgage will also involve the mortgagee (lender). Whether the leaseholder/mortgagor acts for self or not, the mortgagee will insist on instructing a solicitor at the cost of the leaseholder/mortgagor.

But enfranchising is never 'straightforward'. In any case, enfranchising a leasehold house in mortgage will also involve the mortgagee (lender). Whether the leaseholder/mortgagor acts for self or not, the mortgagee will insist on instructing a solicitor at the cost of the leaseholder/mortgagor.

I could have guessed they would, and ridiculously, if it's anything like conveyancing it can be one and the same person, getting 2 lots of fees from their clients. Bless

Oddly, mortgagees never agree to pay their own fees as a client- they heap all the costs onto the benighted mortgagor (borrower).

Hi, I have gone through this thread from the beginning and realise parts of it are old but I wanted to know why people are soo afraid of leaseheld properties?

I bought my house May 2010, it was a leaseheld property and I didn't have a problem with that as it was the right house for me.

Decided to move summer 2011, accepted an offer October 2011. Then on Christmas Eve, they pulled out of the sale saying the lease was too short at 75years remaining!

They felt this would be a problem when they came to re-sell! After my solicitor investigated it turned out that she had at least 25years before anything needed to be done.

I couldn't have bought the freehold as I had not owned the property for long enough and getting a lease extension at that late stage in the game was impossible!!

Gutted we are back to square one with our house back on the market! Hopefully it will all work out in the end.

But for those of you out there looking for a home, don't rule out leasehold properties, they are no different and you always have the option to extend or purchase the freehold when you've been there a while. The only bit to bear in mind is that most mortgage providers require 25years remaining on the lease upon full re-payment of the mortgage.

Good luck x

Theres a perrrrrrrfect place in the middle of London. It's just perfect but I really do not want to buy it on leasehold because I know Im not going to be living there when I have children etc and I don't know when I will decide to move out; and there is no way I am renting. I just want to know this is MY house you know? How can I convince the seller to change to freehold?

Hi, I have gone through this thread from the beginning and realise parts of it are old but I wanted to know why people are soo afraid of leaseheld properties?

I bought my house May 2010, it was a leaseheld property and I didn't have a problem with that as it was the right house for me.

Decided to move summer 2011, accepted an offer October 2011. Then on Christmas Eve, they pulled out of the sale saying the lease was too short at 75years remaining!

They felt this would be a problem when they came to re-sell! After my solicitor investigated it turned out that she had at least 25years before anything needed to be done.

I couldn't have bought the freehold as I had not owned the property for long enough and getting a lease extension at that late stage in the game was impossible!!

Gutted we are back to square one with our house back on the market! Hopefully it will all work out in the end.

But for those of you out there looking for a home, don't rule out leasehold properties, they are no different and you always have the option to extend or purchase the freehold when you've been there a while. The only bit to bear in mind is that most mortgage providers require 25years remaining on the lease upon full re-payment of the mortgage.

Good luck x
There are two 'hurdles'

A. 80yrs. Below this lease length, a statutory "marriage value" enhances the freehold reversion's value and- consequently- what the leaseholder has to pay when either buying a lease extension or buying the whole building's freehold reversion.

B. 70yrs. This is the usual 'floor' lease length for mortgagees adopting the Council of Mortgage Lenders' Handbook rules.

Theres a perrrrrrrfect place in the middle of London. It's just perfect but I really do not want to buy it on leasehold because I know Im not going to be living there when I have children etc and I don't know when I will decide to move out; and there is no way I am renting. I just want to know this is MY house you know? How can I convince the seller to change to freehold?
Answer: if the vendor [V] has owned it for a minimum of two years, make your offer conditional on V:
a. serving an appropriate Notice of Claim on the reversioner [L]; and
b. assigning to you (on completion) the benefit of that Notice.

This applies whether it's a house or a flat [but not to commercial premises].