Tanith this is what has been puzzling me, also if lenders will not lend on these houses when they return to the market, why did they lend on them to the initial purchaser?
I think one reason is that purchasers often use the developers recommended solicitor, he knows what side his bread is buttered, so he is not going to make any big deal about the leasehold or the escalator for the ground rent, or should I say he will deliberately mislead the purchasers. He will just say that it is up to the buyer to read all the small print. But many of the purchasers are first time buyers and do not understand the niceties of house purchase.
DD has twice bought properties(not new ones) with leases and in each case the solicitor studied the lease carefully and brought to her attention all the key clauses. This has clearly not happened in these cases.
Frankly I think it is a deliberate con by the developers in collusion with lenders and the solicitors working with them. The developers get extra money for each house when they sell the lease on and more and ore money from those they have sold to, if they keep them.
However over the last 6 months there has been a lot in the media about this and most of the developers have now said that all future properties will be sold freehold, unless there are particular reasons where leasehold tenure is required and Taylor Wimpey (I think) have actually set aside money to help someof their buyers buy their way out of their leases