Would you buy a Tyneside lease if you don't live in Tyneside?

[Spindelina]

(or anywhere else where such things are heard of?)

My DF is in the process of buying a flat, and it has just come to light that it is a Tyneside lease. He's not somewhere where this is at all common. He's thinking about pulling out for this and other reasons.

How much of a pain is it to live with, compared to third party freeholder or share of freehold? How much of a pain to mortgage? (He doesn't need a mortgage, but thinking about resale.)

In case it's relevant, the flat one of two in a conversion with separate entrances.

I've never heard specifically of a Tyneside lease, but leasehold is a common arrangement for any flat.

Though just to add that the arrangement you're describing is actually known as Tyneside flats, for the benefit of other posters who may not know.

This is going to be not much help, but I grew up on Newcastle and didn't realise they were a local 'thing', but that style of housing is very popular. I knew loads of people living in them, seemingly without any hassle!

The arrangement of flats is fine, not a problem, and quite common locally. It's the arrangement of the leases that's the problem - sorry if that wasn't clear.

As far as we can tell from communications with solicitors (not all entirely clear!), it's what I know as a Tyneside lease (and what Google tells me is also called a crossover lease): the ground floor leaseholder owns the freehold for the top floor and vice versa. So as the ground floor occupier, you own a flying freehold which flies over your flat.

The normal arrangement round here would be either for a third party (normally the developer or their successor in title) to retain the freehold and collect a ground rent, or for a limited company to be set up to own the freehold, in which each of the leaseholders is a shareholder. He'd be fine with either of those arrangements.

From Googling, there can be issues with the roof/drains (whose responsibility are they? not a question if there is only one freeholder, whether that be a third party or a limited company) and with mortgaging.

The former point I think might be helped by having a local convention.

The latter point I'm not convinced by, seeing as mortgage providers are national operations and people get mortgages in Tyneside!

Sorry, those last two posts were me. Not very good at this whole changing nicknames thing!