Leasehold on a semi in the burbs of Manchester

[Want2bSupermum]

DH is being relocated to Manchester so I am looking at houses (very small ones) in Hale, Manchester and some of them have 999 year leases. I called the agent and they told me this was normal. It sounds very dubious to me as:

1 - the leaseholds are all 999 years with GBP100 ground rent per year. That means the owner of the freehold has just taken it out.

2 - When I told the agent that I know I can buy the leasehold after two years but I would like any bid we submit to include the freehold. The agent told me that we can't do that. We are talking regular 3 bed semis here,.... Am I not able to submit a bid that also includes the freehold as part of the offer?

Is this normal? Has anyone neigotiated the leasehold when buying a property like this or does everyone wait for the 2 year period?

well its certainly unusual. are they very new houses?

I live in Hale, and I think there is some land owned by the Stamford Estate and some possibly by the National Trust, though that is nearer Dunham. A large landowner will want to retain the freehold - this won't be negotiable as they won't parcel off bits of land to separate ownerships. Is it the Stamford Brook estate you're looking at?

999 year leases aren't unusual - they basically mean that all the freeholder retains is an interest in the land. If it is an older property it could be that there was a 99 year lease (not unusual in 1911) which has just expired and been replaced by a 999 year one.

The Leasehold Reform Act of 1964 (and after) brought in longer leases so that people weren't kicked out just by virtue of not having a freehold interest. It was off the back of a load of 99 year leases expiring in the 1960s when the suburbs were built out in the 1860s.

Find out who the freeholder is and see if it is one of the exempt bodies (Crown Estate, for example, does not have to sell freehold - although it often does), then approach the freeholder direct with your proposal.

It's quite usual in these parts

Thank you so much for your replies. This move is starting to get quite stressful as yesterday we found out we are expecting in June/July. They want DH to start in May/June so he is trying to get them to move up his transfer date.

The two houses in question are number 3 and 31 Sandleigh Avenue - located between Grove and Stamford Park. MissMB - is this stamford estate?

You don't have the right to buy the freehold until you've had the lease for 2 years, which is why the agent can't negotiate a price that includes the freehold. After the two years you can negotiate to buy the freehold. There are, however, some situations where you wouldn't be able to buy it. The details are the the Shelter website

If you are keen to buy the freehold in the future I suggest you check that you'll be able to before buying the house. Having a 999 year lease needn't be a deal breaker as it's a very long time.

Thanks for the link nocake.

I have emailed the agent again to ask who owns the freehold. My issue with the lease is that I want us to have control over the maintenence schedule of the home. If we were buying a flat I would expect a lease but not for a semidetached house.

Sandleigh Avenue isn't the Stamford Brook estate OP, that is a new development. The land could well be owned by the Stamfords as it is right by Stamford Park, which was gifted to the Council by the Stamfords. They still have an estate office in Altrincham town centre.

It is also practically next door to me.

I can do some digging for you if you would like. Our house is also a 3 bed semi (but slightly older, I think) but is freehold.

WRT maintenance our last house was leasehold (though not in Hale) and we just paid ground rent. The maintenance of the property was entirely up to us - in fact the lease required us to keep it in good order. With houses on Sandleigh Avenue it is clear that the individual owners have been responsible for any maintenance or alteration, (e.g new windows have not all gone in at the same time) so it is likely that it is the same there.

Thank you so much Miss MB! DH is heading to Manchester this week and is viewing a couple of different places. We found out yesterday that we are pregnant. We are due to move in 6 months so we can't use NHS services until we have lived here for a year. We have expat insurance so the cost isn't an issue. Are there any private hospitals in the area that do childbirth?

Thank you guys for your input on here. As it turned out DH hated all of the houses I found (he was being spoilt) and went to look at two places in Wilmslow that each need a complete gut renovation. I am newly pregnant so not sure what he is thinking!