Flat with absent freeholder
Discussion
I might have the chance to buy a cheap flat. Its the ground floor of a 2 story purpose build 1960's block. It looks like a row of terraced houses but each "house"is actually 2 flats. Each flat has its own external door and there are no common parts.
The seller doesn’t know who the freeholder is, and there isn't a management Co so there are no maintenance charges. I believe it has a peppercorn ground rent which isn't being collected.
I know it can be difficult insuring a flat as a leaseholder, so how would I go about finding who the freeholder is?
Are there any other issues when there is an absent freeholder? The obvious one is maintenance, but as its effectively a house there isn't much to worry about structurally.
The seller doesn’t know who the freeholder is, and there isn't a management Co so there are no maintenance charges. I believe it has a peppercorn ground rent which isn't being collected.
I know it can be difficult insuring a flat as a leaseholder, so how would I go about finding who the freeholder is?
Are there any other issues when there is an absent freeholder? The obvious one is maintenance, but as its effectively a house there isn't much to worry about structurally.
The freeholder will be on the paperwork for the property.
As a buyer, I would not take any responsibility for it - a solicitor can advise, but my plan if set on the property would be to ask the seller to provide the lease/deeds to the estate agent so you can see for yourself.
My brother was selling a flat and whilst the freeholder was known, none of their contact information was current and it added two months onto the sales process trying to locate them.
There may be indemnity policies required.
Insurance for leasehold is fine? at least it was for me.
One thing to consider, I had exactly the same set up in my first flat - what looked like 3 houses side by side terraced, was 6 flats with private entries. Other lease issues aside (a lot of them), I did wonder what on earth would happen if the roof went from age. We were first floor and would be immediately impacted, but maintenance was 50/50 with ground floor. What would happen if they refused to pay? Ours was 50 years old, roof had been patched, it was going to need doing at some point for sure.
Same would go for issues with the foundations.
Another thing would be to check the other person has buildings cover at all times. I did have horrendous thoughts as to what would happen if the ground floor caught fire and wasn't insured.
As a buyer, I would not take any responsibility for it - a solicitor can advise, but my plan if set on the property would be to ask the seller to provide the lease/deeds to the estate agent so you can see for yourself.
My brother was selling a flat and whilst the freeholder was known, none of their contact information was current and it added two months onto the sales process trying to locate them.
There may be indemnity policies required.
Insurance for leasehold is fine? at least it was for me.
One thing to consider, I had exactly the same set up in my first flat - what looked like 3 houses side by side terraced, was 6 flats with private entries. Other lease issues aside (a lot of them), I did wonder what on earth would happen if the roof went from age. We were first floor and would be immediately impacted, but maintenance was 50/50 with ground floor. What would happen if they refused to pay? Ours was 50 years old, roof had been patched, it was going to need doing at some point for sure.
Same would go for issues with the foundations.
Another thing would be to check the other person has buildings cover at all times. I did have horrendous thoughts as to what would happen if the ground floor caught fire and wasn't insured.
joropug said:
The freeholder will be on the paperwork for the property.
As a buyer, I would not take any responsibility for it - a solicitor can advise, but my plan if set on the property would be to ask the seller to provide the lease/deeds to the estate agent so you can see for yourself.
My brother was selling a flat and whilst the freeholder was known, none of their contact information was current and it added two months onto the sales process trying to locate them.
There may be indemnity policies required.
Insurance for leasehold is fine? at least it was for me.
One thing to consider, I had exactly the same set up in my first flat - what looked like 3 houses side by side terraced, was 6 flats with private entries. Other lease issues aside (a lot of them), I did wonder what on earth would happen if the roof went from age. We were first floor and would be immediately impacted, but maintenance was 50/50 with ground floor. What would happen if they refused to pay? Ours was 50 years old, roof had been patched, it was going to need doing at some point for sure.
Same would go for issues with the foundations.
Another thing would be to check the other person has buildings cover at all times. I did have horrendous thoughts as to what would happen if the ground floor caught fire and wasn't insured.
Thanks. For insurance I meant insuring the structure. I don't think leaseholders can do that?As a buyer, I would not take any responsibility for it - a solicitor can advise, but my plan if set on the property would be to ask the seller to provide the lease/deeds to the estate agent so you can see for yourself.
My brother was selling a flat and whilst the freeholder was known, none of their contact information was current and it added two months onto the sales process trying to locate them.
There may be indemnity policies required.
Insurance for leasehold is fine? at least it was for me.
One thing to consider, I had exactly the same set up in my first flat - what looked like 3 houses side by side terraced, was 6 flats with private entries. Other lease issues aside (a lot of them), I did wonder what on earth would happen if the roof went from age. We were first floor and would be immediately impacted, but maintenance was 50/50 with ground floor. What would happen if they refused to pay? Ours was 50 years old, roof had been patched, it was going to need doing at some point for sure.
Same would go for issues with the foundations.
Another thing would be to check the other person has buildings cover at all times. I did have horrendous thoughts as to what would happen if the ground floor caught fire and wasn't insured.
I'm not too worried about the maintenance as it looks to be in good repair, and I know the area well.
I'll see what the lease says about the freeholder. The seller has left that blank on the seller forms, and has themselves down as responsible for insurance. I thought that had to be the freeholder.
Edited to add...
Yes the original freeholder is in the lease. I suspect its a probate sale given the poor condition of the interior, so the seller might not know to check the lease.
Edited by 98elise on Wednesday 24th April 16:35
Yeah on the insurance side of things I spoke to AXA and they were fine with me having a separate buildings policy to ground floor. I did ask them what would happen if they didn’t have insurance , they suggested our flat would be fixed.
But would you then live above a burnt out shell? Who knows. I stayed with the same insurer throughout because they had confirmed that on the phone, just in case.
But would you then live above a burnt out shell? Who knows. I stayed with the same insurer throughout because they had confirmed that on the phone, just in case.
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