If you own a house built in the 1970's or 1980's where you pay a ground rent then you need to read this!
Most people do not know the difference between Freehold and Leasehold property and £20 or £35 a year ground rent does not raise any alarm bells. However, whenever you want to change a window to a patio door or build a small extension or place solar panels on your roof, you need the consent of the Freeholder. They not only charge several hundred pounds for this consent, they often increase the ground rent significantly.
Careful property owners who check that they have Planning Permission and Building Regulation Approval can find themselves in breach of their Lease if they didn’t ask the Freeholder for consent. In addition, when they try and sell their homes, they find out that they may have a big problem. Mortgage companies will not lend on properties with less than 60 years left on the Lease. The fact that you can only sell to a cash buyer means your house is worth a lot less.
If you pay the Freeholder for a ‘valuation` you pay £95.00 for the Freeholder to give you an aspirational price. This price is merely a figure that they hope to get from you. Parliament have introduced a mechanism to make this process fairer. The statutory basis for calculating the price is usually 30% to 50% of the aspirational price. If the Freeholder asked for £12,000, we can normally reduce that to around £4,000. The total fees for both the Surveyor and ourselves is under £1,000.
We are experts at helping people get the best deal when buying their Freeholds. We are based in Cramlington, so we are local as well as friendly and efficient. Give us a call for a no-obligation chat about your options. Buying the Freehold will add more to the value of your home than it costs so yes you should buy your Freehold!
Sue Shaw-Toomey is the Managing Partner of Toomey Legal Limited of Fergyspace, Northumberland Business Park West, Cramlington NE23 7RH Tel: 0191 605 3710
