Ty for this video,this has helped me out a great deal,I’m currently looking for my first property with a minimum mortgage,knowing about lease lengths and service charges and ask the agent has really shown me what to look for and what to stay away from.
I have pets and the solicitor didn't want to take action to ask for permission from the freeholder even though I told them from the start I wouldn't buy it without written permission. It's been almost 4 months and no real action. My ground rent is £360 and they will review it in 2026. I was already fed up with the whole thing, I watched your video yesterday and informed the solicitor that I don't want to go through the process any further. This leasehold thing is a scam and only in the UK exists and as far as I know, in Scotland, they have fixed it. So much exploitation in this country. Thanks!
I'm so sorry this happened to you, solicitors just don't know enough about leasehold properties to act for you accordingly. SO glad you walked away from it, you've saved yourself a whole load of stress and money in the future!
1) it was allowed because democratically elected politicians made it so 2) even more crazy is why anybody would want to prefer LH over FH especially given NO outright economic incentives? 3) I tell you what you want, what you really really want, So tell you what you want what you really really want... It is a legal title in an estate of the land in fee simple absolute in possession! (Technical legal term. So Anyone can research this further!) 4) shame really that in the uk we never got the third possible type of ownership kick off. I'm talking of course about the commonhold. Well the legislation has been there for long but it's never really got any notiriety and was never picked up by the common man and the real estate businesses.
You really matured through this exp and I think your credit to you tube community ! We eventually. Saved enough to buy a house but I could only do this once my sitting tenant bought flat at his leisure. This exp made me grow up fast and take note of every detail of property and how I finance it!
I definitely did and thank you so much! So glad you managed to get out of it and now in freehold, it's definitely a learning curve and makes you so much more aware of the pitfalls of the property ladder, and of course, to always avoid leasehold!
Can you imagine the level of crazy it would take to buy the section 20 flat with 98 years remaining 😳 like you, even though I've sold my leasehold flat and got a freehold house I do find myself researching this leasehold scandal more and more.... I think I'm just intrigued as to how low these people are willing to go with these lease conditions and ground rent clauses.... It really is quite gripping stuff.... Like the leaseholders who survived the grenfell tower disaster, they are all getting billed around 100k for the repairs because the freeholders and developers used fire spreading cladding. It's criminal and I can't get over how low freeholders are willing to stoop
I know! I agree, I've got somewhat addicted to it and what goes on. The bills that the cladding flats have is just unbelievable, I feel like I was lucky!! I saw a lady in the National leasehold Facebook group the other day, they'd inherited a flat from a family member and it has 50 years left on lease, they literally couldn't understand that they had to extend the lease, get this - the lease extension was going to cost pretty much what the flat was worth, 80k so they were left with nothing either way - nightmare!!
You need to add something to the video, and whoever else decides to make a video about this type of stuff too (I can't be bothered to start a channel, I'm camera shy). BE AWARE WHEN PURCHASING SHARED OWNERSHIP PROPERTIES AS SOME AGENTS WILL ADVERTISE THEM AS FULLY OWNED. A few things to be aware of. 1. I thought I was getting 100% as advertised but halfway through I found out that the seller actually only owner 50% and had to staircase the rest of the 50% on the day of the sale and THEN sell me the 100%. 2. The building where I purchased has 2 types of leaseholds - the fully owned flats have a 999 year lease and the shared ownership ones have 125 year lease. Obviously mine was 125. 3. I assumed (and my solicitor didn't fully advise me) that I'd get 999 once I purchase the 100% - WRONG! I got only the 125 years and after asking the head lease owner I was told they are not mandated to sell me the remainder of the lease they have from the freeholder. However, all other 100% owned flats in my building have the 999 year lease. What a nightmare. I was told I can extend my lease though. So, bear in mind this if you're ever considering buying a shared ownership property. Only in the UK this shit happens! Never again will I buy leasehold! UK housing is a joke.
Thanks so much for sharing this - super important as I am not fully aware of shared ownership and many people think this is the best option when buying a leasehold flat!!! Yes - sounds just like something that would only happen in the UK, terrible, terrible system.
Buying an apartment on Scotland is much easier, as generally they are freehold as opposed to leasehold. Don't quote me though, but I think I am correct. This is nothing to do with service charges if applicable. As for estate agents - will not comment further on that one.
@@NicoleSage Yes but challenging to secure a cheap freehold house in the present market. Everything was or has been bought up....might change for a few months... Taken 6 months for the purchase of a leasehold to go through peppercorn ground rent and lease approx over 800 years but note deed of variation may need requiring....
Hello! Ive found your videos incredibly helpful and I'm really sorry you had to go through all of this with your flat, but it seems like you've come out of the whole experience knowing so much! I'm glad you were able to buy a house in the end :) I am in the process of buying a leasehold flat - I have a share of the leasehold. I have an estate rent charge (so like a service charge) of £3 a year and a rent charge of £10 a year. It is also a 990 year lease. It's in a desirable lcoation, a Victorian house converted to two floors. I could probably find a house in a less desirable location for slightly more money - what would be your thoughts on this?
Thanks so much for watching and absolutely - it's been a total learning curve for me, and just so thankful to have been able to get out of the situation. From what you have said, the terms sound incredibly reasonable actually - as you have a share of leasehold, you have much more control. The only thing you have to think about is if something structurally went wrong with the property, both owners need to come to an agreement to pay for damages together (you normally have a sinking fund if you are a leaseholder), just something to consider, but it does seem incredibly fair for a leasehold flat. Good luck!
I'm looking at a one bedroom flat with no ground rent, but the service charge is £2100 in bournemouth. Cant help but feel thats high considering this place has no elevators, no intercom system, unallocated parking, but has a big communal garden. This is all new to me, so have no idea if that a normal service charge or excessive.
Mine was nearing this mark by the time I sold, there was 5 flats and an intercom system. I would say that is quite high considering the extras that don't need servicing - best to see if you can get hold of the last few years of accounts so you can see how service charges have increased over time, the only way you'll be able to predict what might happen in a few years time. Service charges tend to increase year on year and they are virtually uncapped so worth bearing in mind that when looking at affordability over time.
@@NicoleSage thanks for the sound advice Nicole! I cant see why its so high and i asked the estate agent and they never got back to me. I feel like if you ask too many question the estate agent ends up just ignoring you and selling to someone who doesn't ask so many things.
What discount would you apply for a defective leasehold? Especially under 90 years? Would you find out the cost of extending the lease and Knock that straight off? Btw I wouldn't touch a flat with a high service charge unless there's a resident managing committee who will control the service charge
Tricky one, really the estate agent should be pricing it for sale, but if it's been on the market for a long time then you can go to them with an offer and your reason why. But YES, use a lease extension calculator online which will give you an approach estimation for this and a good tool to barter with, good luck!
Excellent v wish there was internet or you tube around when I first bought my first flat in north London . The service charges were enormous and you paid management fees who based themselves in Mayfair! We got had end purpose built block and the outside wall had big crack and t had water seeping in bedroom then damp. The windows were 1930s art deco metal one which had rotted but were not allowed to Change this. In the end we rented it out and moved in with family. Even tenant ended up being sitting tenant ! Who bought flat in end and didn’t pay me full amount. In fact I got less money than what I paid ! We had Black Friday where market collapsed and interest rate hit 15 percent overnight !
Thanks so much for watching and I wish there was too. So sorry for the issues you encountered as well, and despite the unfortunate loss, so glad you managed to get out of leasehold eventually. OUCH 15%?! That's crazy, to think we have it easy with interest rates right now
You can’t beat freehold when compared to leasehold. Even if it means, moving further out of central London to have a freehold, with accessible links to trains into central London.. If you have to buy leasehold, try your best to buy a share of freehold. Some of these management companies and the freeholders of flats are fleecing leaseholders. It’s a disgrace! Also, I think it should be compulsory that estate agents must put all the necessary info about leasehold charges on websites like right move and zoopla, and should not be allowed to withhold that info to coax you into calling for a viewing. Everything about the properties details should be transparent, otherwise it looks like the estate agent is hiding something. And another appalling tactic estate agents use to sell a leasehold property, they won’t release information about upcoming charges relating to building works being planned, until you have made a purchase and realise you are now in debt for thousands of pounds which the previous seller failed to declare.
Absolutely agree with everything you've said, it's worth the wait for freehold even if it means saving for many more years. You'll save money and so much stress in the long run, and as you say, you never know what you're going to inherit until it's too late. So much more needs to be enforced with estate agents, they are a huge problem.
I've paid a deposit for a house which is unregistered Leasehold. It has around 850 yrs left on the leasehold. Did someone forget to register it? I really want to proceed but I could do with knowing what to expect? Any advice. Thanks !
That's an interesting one, I have heard of this happen before but know it took months for solicitors to unpick. What have the solicitors advised on this? However, if it's unregistered, effectively it wouldn't have any effect in law, I would say anyway. Best to have your eyes wide open before processing though so you're doing the right thing.
@NicoleSage same thing from my side. We are viewing the property just outside London and the ground rent is £300 and I'm guessing that's will be a problem 😮
@@marcins8137 Ah unfortunately yes as it's over the £250 threshold :( see what the owners are willing to do, if they can do a deed of variation or lease extension then it's doable, if not, walk away
@@marcins8137 Service charge seems reasonable for now.. if they do a lease extension it means that the ground rent will become a peppercorn (nominal fee like a £1) and adds the 90 years onto the lease, whereas a deed of variation usually just caps the ground rent. Both routes cost similar so lease extension is more favourable. Agents are the worst, they have no care over what the new seller inherits, definitely wouldn't go any further without raising these points, good luck!
650 years is a great lease length and you shouldn't have any problems with this element. Value of property will be determined by inflation and the area, the only elements that could make it hard to sell if you have an onerous ground rent over £250 or rising ground rent terms in your lease/ and or expensive service charges that go up a lot yearly.
i'm looking at buying a new build apartment in the Midlands using the "First Homes" government scheme which would mean a 25% discount. The apartment is scheduled to be built in February '24 but they want me to use their mortgage advisor to check for initial affordability and to pay a reservation fee for the plot, which i've not yet done. I hope to get answers over the length of the lease, the service charge and how often it increases etc. If they cant give me answers i'll just walk away.
@@NicoleSage The rabbit hole goes deeper with new build sites, as homeowners are expected to pay a management fee to the company, and this fee rises year on year. On top of that, you also have to pay Council tax, despite the council having no management on the estate. (No bin collections, street maintenance, etc). I asked the housing developer some basic questions this morning which they stumbled over and couldn't answer so i said no thank you and walked out.
@@scapingby Yes the management fees are another scam. Council tax is also supposed to cover things like the police, road repairs etc. so understandable why you have to pay that as well.
Despite the bill achieving royal assent, additional pieces of legislation are still needed and it is suggesting this may not be in place until 2025, or 2026 and others won't be until 2028. Very difficult call to make but it could be years waiting. I'd get the cost for how much it would be to do now and make a call from there.
The freehold is collectively owned by the leaseholders, so there is no landlord/managing agent. You are all responsible for the maintenance and have more control over the property (rather than a landlord charging what they like and organising it), it does cost to buy the share of freehold though which can be thousands.
These videos are super interesting and almost putting me off my dream of a city centre flat. I’m looking in Manchester at somewhere built in 2019. Any insight would be appreciated: £250 ground rent (assume a stress due to outside London) £2200 SC (trying to ask for the last 4 years to see if it increased much, and the last 12 months of management meetings to see what’s up) ESW1 certified so no worries about cladding 242 years left My main concern is the sale of the property, everything else I think I can handle with my mortgage luckily being fixed for 3 more years at 1.9% and I’d be porting it from my property to a new flat due to relocating
Thanks for watching! From what you've said, the only thing that is going to cause any issues will be the ground rent unfortunately. Because it is classed as an AST when £250 or over, the mortgage lender will not lend unless there is a deed of variation in place or lease extension which reverts ground rent to a peppercorn. Your lender may accept an indemnity policy but it's generally bank specific, so worth asking the question with your current mortgage lender and see what they say, go from there. Great you're checking the past service charges too as this is always a good indication of what you can expect. Good luck!
@@NicoleSage thanks for the reply! I keep seeing the ground rent is sometimes split into two annual payments, so 125 bi annuals, I wonder if that’s a current loophole to try and avoid it but I will have a look for sure 😊 My only true concern is the SC, because if it goes with inflation that’s absolutely fine, 2.2-2.5-2.8-3k over a couple years will be offset by no need for a car and insurance etc due to location, but if it doubled or tripled I’d be absolutely broken financially so ideally that’s not how it would work
@@urdaeatmoths It's worth looking into for sure, not something I have heard mentioned anywhere though - but worth a punt! Totally, service charge is scary because virtually it's also uncapped, sounds like you're doing all the right things though so fingers crossed for you!
I see it's on with Connells - don't expect any understanding from them about leasehold - I dealt with them on a short leasehold flat and they didn't have a clue. I'd never sell through them.
Agree, Connells is the worst!!! I’ve bought through them before and whole process was a nightmare, including solicitors they force sellers to use - premier property lawyers.
@@NicoleSage AHH premier properties. Completely useless and you never got the same person twice. Another reason to avoid Connells. Annoyingly they do get some properties that need complete refurbishment and thats what we do.
If buying a leasehold property in London is your only option, move it the North East and buy a four bed detached property. Or a whole street in Middlesbrough. Even a swish property in the country. Don’t buy a leasehold.
Yeah, all I heard was blah blah blah just go ahead and buy a freehold. Might as well rename the video "reasons to completely avoid a leasehold & save yourself the headache" Why the hell would I want to say thank you to my landlord/owner by giving him free money 🙄 I already give the government free money.
Basically, but leasehold still makes up a huge proportion of property in England and is often the only option for a lot of people to get onto the property ladder so it's worth considering all these points beforehand as there are some okay leasehold agreements out there if you can find them.
Thank you so much Nicole for the guidance. A property agent told me if the leasehold property is under the management of the council is better than those under private company. Thus the council won’t charge you crazy amount of service charge. Is it true? Thank you
Thank you for watching! I don't personally know the answer as mine wasn't council, however, I have heard this can be the case from some other people that have shared experiences with me. However, I wouldn't believe what an estate agent says at face value as they don't seem to know leasehold properties very well!! If you are interested in a property always get them to provide current ground rent and service charges as this will give you somewhat of an indication and if you're likely to encounter any problems in the future. Hope that helps!
Thanks for your reply Nicole. I just heard someone has bought a maisonette leasehold but no need to pay service charge just £10 ground rent! I found a couple of leasehold flats with very low service charge like appx £400 or £800. If I found out the previous service charge increase were reasonable, I dunno, say increased once every 2,3 years.. Is it ‘save’ to buy such property? I mean can the service charge jump ridiculously from year 1 to year 2? Even without changing the management company? I am a new immigrant, single and not young. With little money and will need a mortgage. I am on the urge to give up on buying. But rental market is crazy! So very little supply and the rental prices keeps going up 😢 Thought it was only my home town facing this housing problem 😢
Yes, I have a friend similar which is £10 ground rent, this is typically freeholders who are independent, it's the large freehold companies to watch out for. Yes, I think you need to see at least the last 2 years then you can work out how much they increase by. Avoid large blocks as service charges will always be higher in those and those that service lifts and car parks etc. I totally understand, the rental market is crazy with how quick things end up going. Definitely keep looking, you know what key things to check with service charges, ground rent and freeholder, it may take a bit longer but there are some okay leasehold properties out there good luck with your search :)!
leasehold flat lucky it was on 999 year lease 949 years left £5 pound year ground rent fixed been paying same £5 pound for last 20 year and no service charge . did not know about leases just dropped very lucky ?
Wow you’re very lucky!! One in a million probably. So far I’ve only heard like 5 people who are as lucky as you! Don’t think I can find such property. I’ve decided to rent as there are just too much uncertainty with leasehold and I don’t have a lot of money to be prepared for that! 😢
What about buyers who ask for a deed of variation ? My late mother's apartment never had one in the lease agreement. When I came to sell a buyer made me pay for the Deed as the vendor through the solicitor. And then during the convenyancing process pulled out . As the buyer buying from her house did the same.
Was the deed of variation required from the buyer for a specific reason such as for capping ground rent? Usually a DOV is only needed for a specific reason so may be it wasn't an issue in the past when was previously purchased? Be interesting to know!
