Maisonettes and lack of a Management Company
Discussion
I live in a maisonette in greater london. There are 6 buildngs with 4 flats each . One of the buildings freehold was bought by the lease holders, the others the freehold is owned by a 'management company'
The freehold can be owned by anyone, But there MUST be a lease to make black and white who is responsible for what.
The flats here where the leaseholders bought the freehold(land) have a 999 year lease, the others have varying leases as dictated by the management company.
The mortgage people want the lease to be solid and properly read. There is massive potential for someone to be royally screwed over if the leases are not good and proper.
Id be the same if I was this mortgage company. I remember looking at another maisonette where the guy in it had done a loft conversion without consent. Three mortgage offers had fallen through due to the legal mix up.
The freehold can be owned by anyone, But there MUST be a lease to make black and white who is responsible for what.
The flats here where the leaseholders bought the freehold(land) have a 999 year lease, the others have varying leases as dictated by the management company.
The mortgage people want the lease to be solid and properly read. There is massive potential for someone to be royally screwed over if the leases are not good and proper.
Id be the same if I was this mortgage company. I remember looking at another maisonette where the guy in it had done a loft conversion without consent. Three mortgage offers had fallen through due to the legal mix up.
Stumbled across this thread and glad I did.
I'm a first time buyer and I've had an offer accepted on the property in the photo. It's the building on the left-hand side, a converted ground floor flat.
It's a bit of an odd set up. The building to the right is a chemist. The flat/space above the ground floor apartment is not occupied and is just used for storage for the chemist.
The freeholder owns both properties. The flat is leasehold with 999 years left and an annual ground rent of £20 pa.
My concerns are, when speaking to the estate agent who'd asked the current owner, how the management side of things work, i.e. is there a monthly service charge? Both parties seemed a bit perplexed as to what I was talking about. The current owner relayed to the estate agent they'd lived there 10 years and had never paid anything. I'm guessing this is maybe naivety in the freeholder's/chemist's part too. All's probably been well thus far and therefore no reason for anyone to have cared or raise an issue.
From my perspective, especially as I'm a nervous first time buyer, I can see this potentially being a problem and one which might hold up the mortgage too.
A mortgage is yet to be be agreed and I've not instructed a solicitor until one's in place.
I guess I'm stuck until a solicitor's appointed in terms of getting it in black and white who's responsible for what.
What I'm looking for specifically is:
Who's responsible for the roof?
Who's responsible for the chimney? (there's a working open fire in the flat)
Who's responsible for damage to my ceiling as a result of the flat/storage space above?
How do I know both now and ongoing that buildings insurance is in place?
Anything else you'd ask?
Unrelated, but also..:
What, if anything, could stop the chemist suddenly selling up in place of takeaway or something else you'd probably not want to live next door to?
What, if anything, could prevent the space above the chemist/ground floor flat being converted into accommodation? One thing which attracts me to this property is that I effectively have no neighbours
Again, anything else which would be of concern to you or that you'd ask?
Pic (from 2009, it looks far better now it's renovated!)
I'm a first time buyer and I've had an offer accepted on the property in the photo. It's the building on the left-hand side, a converted ground floor flat.
It's a bit of an odd set up. The building to the right is a chemist. The flat/space above the ground floor apartment is not occupied and is just used for storage for the chemist.
The freeholder owns both properties. The flat is leasehold with 999 years left and an annual ground rent of £20 pa.
My concerns are, when speaking to the estate agent who'd asked the current owner, how the management side of things work, i.e. is there a monthly service charge? Both parties seemed a bit perplexed as to what I was talking about. The current owner relayed to the estate agent they'd lived there 10 years and had never paid anything. I'm guessing this is maybe naivety in the freeholder's/chemist's part too. All's probably been well thus far and therefore no reason for anyone to have cared or raise an issue.
From my perspective, especially as I'm a nervous first time buyer, I can see this potentially being a problem and one which might hold up the mortgage too.
A mortgage is yet to be be agreed and I've not instructed a solicitor until one's in place.
I guess I'm stuck until a solicitor's appointed in terms of getting it in black and white who's responsible for what.
What I'm looking for specifically is:
Who's responsible for the roof?
Who's responsible for the chimney? (there's a working open fire in the flat)
Who's responsible for damage to my ceiling as a result of the flat/storage space above?
How do I know both now and ongoing that buildings insurance is in place?
Anything else you'd ask?
Unrelated, but also..:
What, if anything, could stop the chemist suddenly selling up in place of takeaway or something else you'd probably not want to live next door to?
What, if anything, could prevent the space above the chemist/ground floor flat being converted into accommodation? One thing which attracts me to this property is that I effectively have no neighbours
Again, anything else which would be of concern to you or that you'd ask?
Pic (from 2009, it looks far better now it's renovated!)
thenortherner said:
From my perspective, especially as I'm a nervous first time buyer, I can see this potentially being a problem and one which might hold up the mortgage too.
You are right to be nervous imo. Unless you are desperate to get on the property ladder or the flat is your dream home my advice would be to run away now before you have incurred any costs.Re the question of the chemist's shop becoming a fast food establishment you might find this of interest - http://web.bolsover.gov.uk/reportsagendas/Reports%...
Bear in mind though that there can be factors which affect a specific location so what holds good in one case might not in another.
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