Buying a leasehold flat. Help needed.

From a charges POV, I’d go for a conversion flat, one of 2, 3 or 4 in the same property. Charges and ground rent will typically be far lower.
Around here there are also quite a lot of purpose built Edwardian-era maisonettes, 2 to each ‘house’, often with some private outside space, where charges are typically confined to a low or nominal ground rent. If not share of FH, I’d want the lease to have plenty of years to run, though - a minimum of 95.

Many years ago I owned a FF maisonette which, if I remember correctly, had a flying freehold? Do they still exist GSM?
I didn’t pay any service charges.

Yes, flying freeholds still exist - where part of your property is above the neighbouring one and vice versa. Maisonettes are often freehold, unlike flats.

I'm going back 20 years now. My boss was a Judge and when I retired he said that whatever I do I mustn't buy any property that was leasehold.

A very wise man.

I live in a block of 25 flats, obviously leasehold. We are our own Management Company and the Management Company owns the leasehold.

Our Service Charge cover all the maintenance of our building including the regular maintenance of the lift. Also covers twice weekly cleaning of all public areas, water to all flats and a contract with British Gas for full 24/7 maintenance of our central heating, etc boilers and system.

How much the service charge is can only be decided by a majority vote at our AGM's. It has risen in the last few years due to very high increases in charges for insurance, builder and decorators and electricity.

If I lived in a freehold house, I would still be having to put aside a similar (if not more) amount each year for general maintenance of that house, so do not begrudge this service charge at all.

A lot can depend on the Management Company. Those (like ours) which are run by volunteers from the flat owner) are usually well run and costs kept to the minimum, Those that are run by external private management companies do need to check out those companies, Some are excellent, many are not.

The flats which are designated 'retirement' properties often have very much higher service charges. What they usually offer is a residents lounge for daily meetings, etc, often a communal laundry area, sometimes a House Manager (although usually these are only now Monday - Friday 9,00 - 500pm.)

Flats without such a designation are usually much bigger (floor area), very much cheaper for service charges and for many people far better value for money.

I would never use the term leasehold as a reason NOT to purchase somewhere. Needs much more investigations.

Thank you GSM I realised after asking you I could have googled it!

Cathy have you considered a maisonette rather than a flat?
No service charges or ground rent to consider.
Mine was in a quiet cul de sac and looked like a house from the outside, with a garden and private parking space.

Thank you everyone for taking time to reply. You have certainly given me a lot to think about.

I have not received the pack from the management company yet but decided to do some research as I have their name. It seems they “manage” all the similar retirement blocks in the city. The reviews are eye wateringly bad. One block was without its lift for weeks and only got repaired after the local paper got involved.

I have a phone call scheduled with my solicitor but I am going to pull out. Whatever I buy will not be a leasehold property.

So glad I asked for help.

NotAGran55

Thank you GSM I realised after asking you I could have googled it!

Cathy have you considered a maisonette rather than a flat?
No service charges or ground rent to consider.
Mine was in a quiet cul de sac and looked like a house from the outside, with a garden and private parking space.

We have a LH maisonette, one of just 2 purpose-built in 1905, but eventually bought the FH of both (other owner didn’t want to buy hers) after a lot of problems with the purchase because of a supposedly absentee freeholder.

He wasn’t absent, just hiding 3 miles away under another name, because of debts attached to the FH! Hadn’t claimed ground rent of £150 for 7 years.

I had to employ a firm of private investigators to find him - TBH not expecting them to, since we’d been led to believe that he’d returned to his country of origin.

They found him within a week, and when I asked how they could be sure it was him, just said, ‘We have our methods.’ 😂
But he initially denied being him - only decided to cooperate once he twigged that there could be money in it.

The whole business of buying the FH took a good year, with a specialist solicitor (the first we tried was useless) but I’m really glad we did it. The ground rent of the other m’ette is now £30 and there are no other charges.

We have a leasehold flat but we also have a share of the freehold. Personally I think this is much safer, though I know many people with leasehold flats who have not had any problems.

NotAGran55

Thank you GSM I realised after asking you I could have googled it!

Cathy have you considered a maisonette rather than a flat?
No service charges or ground rent to consider.
Mine was in a quiet cul de sac and looked like a house from the outside, with a garden and private parking space.

There is absolutely no reason why a maisonette can't be leasehold or have service charges, I don't really understand what you mean by this? I live in a leasehold maisonette with service charges.
And as regards service charges, it is better to pay regular service charges to a good management company than to be suddenly faced with a large bill for maintenance. They budget for expenses such as exterior decoration or gutter cleaning so that the cost is spread over time. Obviously there could be unexpected costs, but there is usually a fund that has build up over time to help to cover this.

I would never buy a leasehold again it’s an utter nightmare

Especially a high block with a lift. Your service charges will be extortionate avoid like the plague

Have a look into management costs too and look at the management pack to see what maintnance has been done.

Thank you very, very much for raising this issue Cathy04, I have been really poorly for a fortnight, and very low, and had just decided to buy a bungalow with the nearby care home. You have brought me to my senses with a jolt! When I take into account all the costs of moving maybe at 86 I am better staying here.... those costs will go a long way to cover the extra help with maintenance etc that I need. Really getting old is the pits!!

these management companies, often owned by people in suits and based in London, have no interest in doing a good job. It is all about profit. Look at companies house when you have the management company name, you may be able to see how this management company has been sold on. It is what many developers do, they wash their hands of the properties

If you can, find a self-managed flat which could well be a much better propect. In 2007 we were part of a residents group that jointly bought the freehold and we became owners by shares, 40 properties. Several groups have done similar. We self managed and it was and still is, I believe, hunky dory. There was a lift and that took up a lot of the costings, very expensive to maintain

Personally, I wouldn't touch a leasehold residential property given the scope for escalating costs.

also, have a dig and find the sinking fund and how much is ring fenced in it. The group of 40 properties had an empty sinking fund, the developer used the money as part of his building costs

DS is a property lawyer and has always advised us to 'steer clear ' of Leasehold flats . As in earlier posts say get your Solicitor to look over the terms of the lease it's money well spent. Even in terms of Freehold flats make sure you are happy with the maintenance charges and the managing agent before going ahead. Good luck

walk away now.
my father always advised me never ever buy a leasehold property and i've stuck to this.

My son has a leasehold flat and the ground rent is £120 per annum, its the service charge which seems to rise without explanation. Yes they submit the accounts but everything is beyond the leaseholders control. You hand over the money on a monthly basis and they say they'll carry out all the necessary work but that rarely happens. Oh they paint the railings etc but the carpark which is a trip hazard has been promised to be repaired for at least five years and is just deteriorating. We also think they pay far too much for work that is actually carried out. Plus the managing agents have just changed hands and we're now disputing the amounts they claim are outstanding. Personally I've never liked the idea of living in a flat and his experience has convinced me to stay well away.

Some maisonettes are freehold, others leasehold cc, but flats are never freehold.

Don’t do it. If you die your descendants will have to continue paying the charges until the property is sold. Just buy a ground floor flat or bungalow. You can get an alarm system fitted with a button you carry with you in case you need help. Hire a cleaner. But there are so many horror stories about people being left with the burden of this when their relatives die.

A ground floor flat elsewhere may still have an escalating ground rent and will definitely be subject to service charges, and the ground rent and service charges will still be payable until it is sold.

I would most certainly think twice before buying a retirement leasehold property. I worked as a manager several years ago and it was not a pleasant role. Charges almost always go up each year and for example if a lift needs replacing or new windows then this can be very costly to the leaseholders if not enough in the sinking funds.

As with every leasehold property.