Making an offer on flat below us

[Goostacean]

Just looking for any advice, really. It's a bit long, sorry!

We live in the top floors of a Victorian terraced house and own the leasehold. The freeholder has a sitting tenant in the downstairs flat, and that tenant also has the attached garden. The tenant is very elderly, with dementia and many other issues which mean they are increasingly becoming a hazard - to themselves and to us. This is leading to increased social services involvement, hassle for the freeholder and hassle for us that I keep passing back to the freeholder and social services because the tenant clearly needs more support than they are getting.

The flat is a nightmare; not been cleaned in years, the tenant smokes indoors, the garden is a jungle with vermin. But owning the freehold would mean that in the long run we could join the properties together into a five bed house, and hopefully extend as many neighbours have done. We could also potentially agree with the tenant/family member to clear the garden a bit and rebuild the wall at the front, for example; investments we'd be happy to make as freeholders but obviously not in our current position. Freeholder has had the foresight to get planning permission for extension granted, which was recently renewed.

With Brexit uncertainty, sterling issues (freeholder has links abroad, not sure of details) and an increasingly problematic tenant- is not the time to offer? What do we need to take into consideration?

Have you asked the freeholder if he is willing to sell you the freehold (this is in addition to buying the leasehold flat beneath you, which I can't see happening unless the elderly person living in it has to sell it to cover care costs).

Have you consider the cost of buying the flat, the freehold and converting the property back?
You might also research if you’re likely to even get the permission to change 2 dwellings into one as some councils won’t be keen.
You could also speak to a mortgage adviser and a solicitor to see if you’re able to afford the flat and where you’d stand legally with the tenant in there.

Are you trying to buy the building freehold or the leasehold for the downstairs flat? I’d say if the freeholder is canny enough to have speculatively got permission for an extension then you’re unlikely to be able to trick them into a cheap sale of either.

Thanks; we're looking to buy the freehold of the whole building, and the downstairs flat doesn't have a leasehold as far as I can tell- it's just freehold with a sitting tenant?

We know the freeholder is open to an offer and is definitely a smart cookie...

We're one of only 2 houses on our entire side of the street (30 odd houses) that are split into two dwellings - but that's a good point. Likewise to consult a lawyer regarding the sitting tenant, good idea. Cost isn't an issue, but value for money is - hence wanting to make a sensible but defensible offer.

I've bought a freehold before and both sides got their valuations and then there were negotiations.

Out of interest, why would you like to go through all this instead of buying a suitable house?

it's just freehold with a sitting tenant?

Not sure what you mean OP. Is the flat below let by the freeholder to the elderly sitting tenant?

I do wonder what all this will cost rather than moving to a house without all the upheaval of buying then turning these two flats into one.

Yes, that's right- the freeholder lets the flat to the sitting tenant, which was a condition when he bought the freehold, as I understand it.

I agree about possibly moving, and we've been having the same discussion. We like the area (NW London) and have multiple ties here so would likely be moving literally down the road. I already own a small flat but that pushes our stamp duty right up. It's currently a buyer's market clearly, so not sure about selling them buying- we only bought this leasehold place two years ago...

Redoing the place completely as we want it plus gaining the garden is quite appealing in the longer term, although I agree it wouldn't be cheap. The house would be a five bed plus garden if we combined the two, so we'd be set for life...

It's worth asking the freeholder for sure if it's your 'dream'.

I'm not sure it's our dream but I'm wondering whether it should be, and whether it's a good way to secure our future. I looked on Rightmove, and there are precisely 2 even vaguely suitable properties nearby...