willdervish

Hello all. The seller's solicitors have refused to budge on the lease, so I've been forced to withdraw from the purchase. Ultimately I feel sorry for the vendor, as this will surely come up again with the next buyer. Thanks to all of you (and especially @Jeffrey Shaw) for your input.

Thank you, Jeffrey. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but there we are! To complicate things further: yesterday I downloaded the title register for what I thought was the house next door (number 49), just in case they were covered by the same lease. What I got was an identical title register, with the same title number. So the freehold seems to cover number 51 (the address of the house I'm trying to buy) and number 49. The EA mentioned that the property was once a corner shop, so maybe number 51 was the shop and number 49 was a dwelling? I have no idea.

Interesting. Are you trying to have the lease removed? Is it expensive to do so?

What I don't understand is why the vendor's solicitors are so reluctant to have the lease removed. I don't think it's by any means an unreasonable request.

Thanks @Jeffrey Shaw - your input is very much appreciated! Here's exactly what it says on the Title Register (with names and address redacted), in case that makes things any clearer: A: Property Register This register describes the land and estate comprised in the title. SOUTH YORKSHIRE : SHEFFIELD 1 (27.03.1986) The Freehold land shown edged with red on the plan of the above Title filed at the Registry and being THE PROPERTY, Sheffield. B: Proprietorship Register This register specifies the class of title and identifies the owner. It contains any entries that affect the right of disposal. Title absolute 1 (04.07.1989) Proprietor: VENDOR 1 and VENDOR 2 his wife, both of THE PROPERTY, Sheffield, S Yorkshire. C : Charges Register This register contains any charges and other matters that affect the land. 1 Lease dated 2 September 1899 to VICTORIAN CHAP for 800 years from 25 March 1899 NOTE: The lease comprises also other land End of register

Thank you! Is that the same @Jeffrey Shaw who is a moderator here? Interesting!

Latest from the vendor's solicitors (via the estate agent): "Further to our telephone conversation the lease is unfortunately unavailable from the Land Registry, this is likely due to it’s age (1899) and the fact the freehold for the property has been registered since 1986. With this in mind we can offer the buyer a Missing Document Indemnity Insurance Policy. As you are aware the buyer’s solicitor is requesting we remove the lease from the freehold title. This is not necessary nor really recommended as a lease is noted on a freehold title when there are still easements applicable to the property. If the lease was removed then the buyer would not have the benefit of these easements (albeit we cannot clarify what these are as the lease is not available to be reviewed but in any event the buyer still has the benefit of these). The covenants contained in the lease will no longer be applicable as the owner of the property is effectively their own landlord and covenants in a lease are only valid when the freehold and leasehold are owned separately."

That's what I thought - but when you search for the property on the Land Registry website, it lists the tenure as 'freehold'. Very confusing! That's good to know! How was it resolved in the end? May I ask which Sheffield solicitor you used?

Hello all. I'm in the process of buying a freehold Victorian house in Sheffield. My solicitor (who is based down south) was alarmed to find that, while the house is freehold, there is also a lease mentioned in the Charges Register. I went onto the Land Registry website and downloaded the Title Register. The Title Absolute names the vendor as the proprietor, but in the Charges Register it mentions an 800-year lease starting in 1899 and owned by another individual. I'm worried that whoever owns the leasehold (heirs of the person named in the Charges Register) could show up and eject me from the property/start charging ground rent. The estate agent says this sort of arrangement is common in Sheffield and that I shouldn't worry. My solicitor, on the other hand, is adamant that the lease needs to be removed or merged with the freehold title. She's requested the lease from the vendor's solicitors but as far as I know they still haven't sent it. I'm just trying to get a sense of how common this sort of thing is, and how worried I need to be. Thanks in advance.

Nah, Fullwood in Sheffield

Haha, they're brilliant!

Ahh yes, and a couple of years ago while holiday in Greece with a few friends of mine I decided to do some cooking without a t-shirt on. I was heating up vegetable oil in a pan and ended up splashing it all over my chest and stomach when I poured in a load of chopped onion. My entire abdomen was bright red and blistered, and I sincerely thought that I would be scarred for life. Luckily it all healed well and you can barely tell. Nonetheless, it still hurt like a mofo.

My flatmate once told me about a pretty horrific injury sustained by a friend of his in a school rugby match. He fell and broke his hip and got one of his testicles trapped between the shards of bone. He screamed so loud that he tore some of his vocal cords. I can't even begin to imagine how painful that must have been.

But at least covers acknowledge a debt to the original artists. Just copying certain parts of a song seems really insidious and shallow to me.

I thought that this thread was going to be about paying for sex, oddly enough.