Desperate help needed on a share of freehold flat purchase

[SushiEarls]

Hello,

I am currently in the process of buying a share of freehold property and would really appreciate your advice on these questions. I am so confused and have noone to ask, and it is such a big purchase for me that I am so worried. Thank you so much in advance!

• which part is freehold for a share of freehold?
• the freeholder has asked for an interview, personal reference, banker's reference, application form (havent received the form so I am not sure of what this is). Is this normal for leasehold part of freehold?
• there is a term that I can lease for a min of 6 months after living for 2 years. Has anyone seem a term like this? I think this can be done when deed of variation is bought, But i think the seller did not buy this. This was dated last year so if I want to buy this deed, would this still hold?
• with these complications, would I be able to refurbish the property? It is likely i would need to ask for a consent from the freeholder? And i want to buy a piano, but with the noise, would I have to ask the freeholder for these kind of things?
• my solicitor is so slow, I had conflicts a few times on communication problem already. She said she would send back a summary report when enquiries are heard. However, my trust has gone low and was wondering if it is possible for me to ask for copies of all the search documents that she would have used for enquiries. Is this normal?
• what documents should I ask my solicitor when i am absolutely going through all the terms? This freeholder issue seems to be so complicated / odd, that I would like to make sure I will not be missing anything. Any advice would be so grateful
• even though this is share of freehold, it is only 150 years lease which were extended last year. Is this normal?

Thank you so much for any help. I would be most grateful. My solicitor does not reply, and I am not sure of what to do... thank you!!!

• which part is freehold for a share of freehold?

The concept of freehold vs leasehold can be tricky to understand, there are some useful online guides and I would suggest giving yourself an hour or so to completely understand the differences. Effectively, the 'whole' of the building is freehold. A Lease grants you exclusive enjoyment of 'part' of the building. At the end of the lease, the freehold regains 'use' of that part of the building to which the lease applied.

The extent of the freehold title's exclusive retention of land depends on the 'demise' of both leases (assuming that there are only 2x flats. It isn't unusual for the freehold title to retain certain communal areas (entrance halls, stairs, possibly garden) and the leases only to contain non-exclusive rights to use that land.

• the freeholder has asked for an interview, personal reference, banker's reference, application form (havent received the form so I am not sure of what this is). Is this normal for leasehold part of freehold?

I have never come across this, it sounds like a belt-and-braces approach - the freeholder sounds like a very cautious individual (at the meeting, I'd certainly get an idea of how buying a piano/renovating for 3 months would go down!).

Unless you are contractually bound to provide this information (your legal adviser will let you know), you are not under an obligation to disclose any information you do not want to - although complying with these requests might be a sensible strategy in order to establish a good working relationship between you and your future co-freeholder.

You may find that the Freehold title is owned by an incorporated company, and there exists a type of agreement between the 'owners' of that company (i.e. the long-term leaseholders) which may contain these sorts of provisions in order to protect the current owners of the freehold.

• there is a term that I can lease for a min of 6 months after living for 2 years. Has anyone seem a term like this? I think this can be done when deed of variation is bought, But i think the seller did not buy this. This was dated last year so if I want to buy this deed, would this still hold?

Without seeing all the contractual documents to which you would be bound by (including any restrictions noted on your title), no-one on this forum will be able to advise as to whether you are 'bound' by this term - you should seek legal advice on this point and get any answer in writing from your lawyer. Where is the term found? do you mean sub-let?

• with these complications, would I be able to refurbish the property? It is likely i would need to ask for a consent from the freeholder? And i want to buy a piano, but with the noise, would I have to ask the freeholder for these kind of things?

Depends on the extent of the refurbishments. If you're talking about new windows, replacing the boiler, re-wire, knocking down walls etc. it is more likely than not that some sort of 'licence to alter' will be required. Again, this depends on the wording of the 'alterations' clause in your Lease, and any implied terms (such as whether the Freeholder can unreasonably withhold consent) - you should seek specific legal advice on this point.

• my solicitor is so slow, I had conflicts a few times on communication problem already. She said she would send back a summary report when enquiries are heard. However, my trust has gone low and was wondering if it is possible for me to ask for copies of all the search documents that she would have used for enquiries. Is this normal?

Any summary report will likely have the search results appended to the back of the report (so that the solicitor can 'disclose' all relevant information about the property to you).

On a more general note, if you do not trust your solicitor you should seriously contemplate instructing someone else. You are making a massive purchase, and the mere fact that you've resorted to an online forum for answers to these key questions suggests to me that you do not have the necessary trust in your legal adviser. With conveyencers, you pay for what you get in my experience.

• what documents should I ask my solicitor when i am absolutely going through all the terms? This freeholder issue seems to be so complicated / odd, that I would like to make sure I will not be missing anything. Any advice would be so grateful

Can't really advise you on this, but it shouldn't be up to you to be requesting these documents - your solicitor should walk you through all the necessary points.

• even though this is share of freehold, it is only 150 years lease which were extended last year. Is this normal?

Perfectly normal, although its strange that the leases were not extended to 999 years when the freehold was acquired. It is unlikely, however, you will need to extend the leasehold term whilst you are a co-freeholder.

First of all, can you tell us about the flat you are buying?

Is it in a converted house for example with just two flats, one ground floor and one upstairs flat? In this case, you may be offered 50% of the freehold title. This means you will get two title deeds at the end of the purchase, one for the leasehold interest and one for the share of freehold.

Or is the flat part of a block, where there are more than 4 flats? In this case, you would get one title at the end of the purchase for the leasehold interest. The freehold will still belong to the freeholder but you will obtain a "share" in the management company that looks after the communal areas and the structure of the whole building. It is referred to as a share of freehold, but really it is a share of the management company, so you could have some input into how they spend their budget, but you would not own a percentage of the freehold.

Once you can advise us which one your flat is, we can be more helpful. I am assuming that your solicitor has sent you the lease?

I will read through in further details when I am off work, but thank you so much for detailed answer, sel17 and to spickle, it is more than 4 flats, in a square. It has individual doors to each apartment, lets say, in a square, each apartment probably having 10-20 flats I would imagine. Solicitor said she would send me the summary report soon, and I presume that would contain lease terms. Should I have received this from the beginning? I am a first time buyer, so all the help would be so much appreciated. Thank you, and I am so grateful

You should have received a copy of the Lease during the early part of the transaction. Do you have this? The summary report should let you know all about the property, but you do need to see the Lease and try to understand it.

With a block of flats as you describe, you won't actually own a share of the freehold, but will be given one share in the management company looking after the block.

spickle you can own a share in the company that owns the freehold. Eg-
You buy flat 3, Lovely Towers, and one share in the Lovely Towers Freehold Company Ltd, which in turn owns the freehold, and may appoint a managing agent to look after the building.
Given that they want to interview you (which I have never heard of in my life!) I'd say they will mind a lot re any changes you make as part of a refurbishment. The lease will say whether or not pianos are acceptable.

Hi spickle, thank you very much. If possible, could you let me know what documents the solicitor should have provided already? I will ask for this immediately when I get your reply!

MessySurfaces It amounts to the same thing. You won't own the freehold, you will be given a share in the management company or the company that owns the freehold, but you will not be named on the freehold title.

Also, MessySurfaces, thank you very much. I think this interview / application form will grant me to become a member of the freehold association. I will paste the exact wording later when I get home. But what you described to me sounds like the process i need to go through to become a member. I have been told by the solicitor that it is common to give personal reference and bank reference when it is leasehold. When I get the summary report, I will try to understand more and summarize here what the share of freehold actually is for the property.

At this point, I am not even sure if I should pursue. They have not bought the deed of variation to get this sub letting clause in (currently you are not allowed to sublet) and this will also take a long time. It is £578k one bed room flat, and I am not sure if I can risk anymore.

Hi spickle, thank you very much. If possible, could you let me know what documents the solicitor should have provided already? I will ask for this immediately when I get your reply! (I just realized you can reply)

Sushi you should have received:
A title plan of the property. You're supposed to look at it and confirm that it matches what you think you're buying.
EPC - gives you an idea of the square footage of the property as well as a rating for the energy used and where you could make savings.
The Lease - sets out the rights and obligations on you as a leaseholder. Will also detail ground rent reviews, when it is due and if it increases, the date of the lease, i.e. when the lease started and how long (therefore how long is left). Your obligations if you want to make alterations to the layout of the flat, i.e. landlord consent/building regulations.

You need to be the owner for 2 years before you can apply for a lease extension, but it would seem that the lease was extended to 150 years last year, by way of Deed of Variation (this would be noted on the leasehold title), so no need for you to extend again in 2 years time.

You may need consent for a piano, so read the Lease, it may say in there whether musical instruments are allowed in a flat because you will have neighbours above and below your flat.

The report summary would include the contract for signature, mortgage deed for signature, searches and the leasehold pack, which details the service charge accounts for the last three years, block insurance, fire assessment, asbestos reports. any Section 20 notices (major works notices). The report should also give you copies of the enquiries and responses between the solicitors for your information. Make sure you read the report and understand it.

Your solicitor will make enquiries from all the information she receives, not just from the search results. Leasehold enquiries are quite complicated and do take time to resolve. Try to be patient. If necessary make an appointment with your solicitor to go through everything you don't understand. If you are using a fixed fee solicitor, an appointment will be an extra expense on top of the fixed fee.

Are you planning to let the flat out? If not I wouldn't worry too much about the deed of variation. You can apply for it at a later date if needs be.
Do you like the general atmosphere of the block? The freehold association clearly keeps a fairly tight grip on thing- which can be good if you like it that way, or a bit restrictive if not!

Be aware a lot of places like this also massively crack down on noise even during the day. You may have problems with a piano.

Hi Sparkle, MessySurfaces ans Talia99, thank you very much. Also for detailed documents needed. I have received the report with the documents as appendix. I will go through and summarize them here for better address my concerns and ask for any questions, which I will also do for this property specifix questions to the solicitor.

My day job has been hectic and have not been able to thank you sooner.