[quote areyouhavingagiraffe]@DaisyNGO, my original reasons for selling my flat was to "upgrade" to a house with a garden. I loved my flat and my little place, and we had communal gardens but I wanted private outdoor space, used to hate it in the Summer.
However, my reasons for wanting if off my hands quickly came about as we were going through solicitors inquiries. My flat sold very quickly, for over asking price. However, there were so many potential pitfalls during the Sale, and I naively didn't know about any of these when I bought it 16 yrs ago, such as:
- Ground rent clauses. Mine did not have a doubling but the Buyers Solicitors was throwing caution to the wind and asking for a deed of variation. After researching this I realise this is a MASSIVE issue on a lot of leasehold properties. I did a lot of research and fought my corner (my Solicitor did not), and I managed to bat this away. This can scare many Buyers away, and Lenders also have very strict rules. So these properties could become unmortgageable in a few years, indeed my flat will have a ground rent which will exceed 0.01% of property value in a year or two which could be an issue
- Service charges; again many Lenders have strict and constantly changing criteria on this
- Cladding; my block did not have cladding, was traditional cavity wall type construction. However, we don't know how the EWS1 requirements will change (and they are changing). I know some people who have balconies for example have needed to get these EWS1. In a nutshell the criteria is changing all the time, and we are at the mercy of the freeholder, as we cannot undertake the EWS1 ourselves.
-Fire; requirements for fire safety check and risk assessments, again needed by Lender. Again, we are at the mercy of the freeholder for this. If there is anything risky in there, the Lender may not lend.
I had no idea about all of these things when I bought, and obvs none of us could foresee the Grenfell tragedy. For me, the biggest risk is the ground rent, and the changing legislation around what paperwork is needed for the sale of flats (i.e EWS1). I understand that just after Grenfell, all Lenders were asking for this for ALL flats. Now it is limited to certain flats, but who knows how things could change.
- Lease; mine was 125 yrs when I bought, and had 115 yrs when I sold. But once under 80 yrs it is difficult to sell as it will cost more to extend the lease.
Anyway, those I believe are the main issues.[/quote]
Literally all of these items were a factor for me in deciding to sell as well.
There were so many issues I had no idea would be a 'thing' when it came to selling a flat and it was an eye opener. I was stressed throughout the sale wondering what might derail everything.
For example, my Freeholder did not have a sinking fund so the buyer's solicitor flagged this as a concern because I had to pay extra on top of my service charge last year to cover some repairs.
The solicitor also requested an EWS1 which I didn't have. I don't even know how that enquiry went away but the sale went ahead without it.
There was a Fire Safety Assessment carried out at some point in 2020 which I sent on to the buyer's solicitor. No idea if it would pass muster if I was selling now.
When I was in the process of buying the flat the lease was originally 99 years and just before I finalised the purchase my solicitor at the time called a halt to everything and said it had to amended to 125 years. As a young FTB I had no idea what any of this meant and was annoyed at her for causing a delay. Thank goodness for her oversight as I fortunately had 112 years left when I sold.
I don't think I could cope with the stress of a leasehold again.