Buying a flat - surveyor disagrees with service charge?

hughtrimble said:
Indeed, share of freehold. But these are understandably priced far higher and you can still encounter significant difficulties when issues arise.

Naturally I want a freehold detached house! But that isn't happening unless I move out of London.
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Bare in mind they with shared freehold you are at the whim of th co-sharers and as such, getting things done can be laborious in the extreme
 
hughtrimble said:
Got all this - no major works scheduled but equally no major works conducted in the last five years. Have a breakdown of the service charges.

The point you raise about service charges is a good one, and certainly an issue. But finding properties in my budget in the areas I've been looking that do not have service charges (i.e. freehold) has proven impossible. I did find some fixer-upper freehold houses, but the fixer-upper part was realy that; uninhabitable in their current state!

I have accepted that I will be paying service charges and ground rent and also that these are at risk of rising - just something I have to do to live where I want to!
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I own a leasehold flat. 121 years remaining and about £250 per year ground rent and £1200 service charge.

I live in Surrey and work within the realm of leasehold enfranchisement, marriage value calculation etc - not much I’ve not seen before.

There is nothing wrong with a leasehold flat provided the lease is over I would say 100 years. It’s when it gets below 85 that i start to panic and your bank account weeps.

Your solicitor is there to check for upcoming works, unpaid charges and to check the amount in the sinking fund. Provided you are happy with those responses, and the lease length then go for it. Just keep your lease long and budget a grand or two every 5-10 years to keep it high.

Then sell it and buy a freehold house but hope you make some wonga in the process. Thankfully I have.

People who tell you to avoid leasehold at all costs are being somewhat melodramatic and probably live somewhere where it is uncommon.

Given my way, leasehold properties shouldn’t exist. But then, given there are hundreds of thousands of them, that won’t be happening any time soon.

Don’t get hung up on shared freehold. Let’s say you move in and then realise number 15 is a crack den that hasn’t paid its share of the sinking fund for six months. That’s a right ball ache.

Or let’s say you want to get the communal areas cleaned up or the windows changed, or the roof repaired - who pays for it? You lot do. And if number 15 is high on meth and defaulting on their own mortgage repayments, you have not a hope in hell of stopping that leak unless you all stump up for it and pay their share....

At least with leasehold there are defined terms and responsobiiities upon a company and all the trappings and legal repercussions at your disposal should they bugger about. Not saying it’s plain sailing but there are negatives and positives to
both.
 
Quartz said:
So you're buying a leasehold? Red flag.
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You'd walk away if it was a FREEHOLD flat, not leasehold.

tom_nieto said:
In my experience all these things have been handled by the solicitor. They’re getting paid to protect you from poor decision making and advise on these matters. Feedback from the survey is the key next important thing.
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Negotiation on purchase price is absolutely not a solicitor's job. Neither is advising on whether a price is "good value" or whatever.
hughtrimble said:
When you say 'dealt with' is this part of your profession? .
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Yes I'm a conveyancer.
 
Skillmister said:
You'd walk away if it was a FREEHOLD flat, not leasehold.


Negotiation on purchase price is absolutely not a solicitor's job. Neither is advising on whether a price is "good value" or whatever.

Yes I'm a conveyancer.
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I think we’ve crossed wires here. The solicitor negotiates on your behalf. My initial comments should have stated that the solicitor has work to do to offer a lower asking price based on the unfavourable survey on the buyers behalf i.e. instructed by the client.
 
fastwunz said:
Bare in mind they with shared freehold you are at the whim of th co-sharers and as such, getting things done can be laborious in the extreme
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you can still form a management company and appoint an managing agent while owning a share of the freehold AFAIK

I've got a leasehold flat and we all own a share of the management company we elect directors and we have a managing agent to sort out the day to day tasks etc.. they organise maintenance work, employ the full time caretaker who is around Monday-Friday and the security guard who patrols at night and on weekends etc..

now if some of us leaseholders were to get together an buy the freehold we can still keep the same structure with regards to the management company and agent... only difference is there are a different owners of the freehold
 
tom_nieto said:
I think we’ve crossed wires here. The solicitor negotiates on your behalf. My initial comments should have stated that the solicitor has work to do to offer a lower asking price based on the unfavourable survey on the buyers behalf i.e. instructed by the client.
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No they don't!

You go through the estate agent to negotiate on price.
 
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