Garden a short walk away from flat- deal breaker?

[mussinboots]

We've got very few properties coming to the market that tick all our boxes. We're currently in a flat and (I) don't want to move from the area so am trying to convince my husband to consider a sideways move and consider a bigger flat with perks we don't have in our current flat- garden and parking.

We came across a flat today. It's a duplex over two floors and has a garden but the garden isn't directly accessible from the flat itself. In order to access the garden, you'd come out the door and walking a couple of meters to the side to reach it IYSWIM. Would that be a dealbreaker? I'm not sure how I feel about that. We have toddler twins and they and I NEED us to have a garden but not one where I have to walk them to it and stay with them to keep an eye on them.

@Dazedandconfused10

100% freehold as in you're in charge of the leases for everyone else? In which case do you know what that entails?

No, not yet. This is a probable property so the EA has to check with the owners children if the sale includes the freehold to entire property or just this flat.

@Dazedandconfused10

100% freehold as in you're in charge of the leases for everyone else? In which case do you know what that entails?

Are there any pitfalls to being a freeholder?

If the flat alone is freehold rather than share of freehold, don’t touch it, run away.

If your flat owns the freehold of the building and other leaseholds then it’s a ballache responsibility you don’t really want.

I think there are way more suitable flats out there for you.

How old are the twins? Are they toddlers as in 18mths old or 3ish? They change so quickly at that age that that would really impact on how soon it will be until they are safe-ish in the garden.
Also, how far away is the garden? Do you have any windows which overlook it? Or which you can hear the DC from? Our house is an annoying layout so, if I was in the kitchen, I couldn't see the garden. It was a pretty safe environment though so I used to put the baby monitor out there and leave DD out there and she had to sing (something she did most of the time anyway). I was also comfortable as the only access to the garden was through a gate I could see from the kitchen - well, other than climbing over the back fence from a neighbour's back garden and the chances of a kidnapper being in their garden seemed low.
On the other hand, I lived in an upstairs maisonette in London in my early 20s when we had to go down, out the front door and around the corner to get to our bit of the garden and we rarely went down there as it just seemed a bit of an effort. I then moved to a ground floor maisonette where my kitchen door opened onto the (smaller) garden and I was out there all of the time, and much more than the people in the upstairs maisonette who had to come down the stairs and around the corner.

You can't have a freehold for one flat. It's not possible.

Pitfalls. You charge service charges to create a sinking fund for roof replacement for example. 1 other owner pays, no one else does, you as freeholder have to get the work done and fi d money elsewhere because one freeholder has held up their end of the bargain.

Your are in charge of all the maintenance organisation. You can outsource but its on you to keep the bundling because as freeholder you owner the bricks and mortar to the entire building.

It would be a deal breaker for me.

The benefit of a garden to me isn't just being able to go sit in the garden and then that's it, you stay there. I have numerous parks, woods and green spaces around I could do that with.

It's the accessibility and convenience of having outdoor space right there. Being able to throw the doors open for fresh air in your living space. Kids able to wander in and out. Strolling onto the patio in your PJs with a coffee. Taking two steps and going from inside to outside with your picnic lunch or sides for the ongoing barbeque. Letting the little ones carry on playing with the ball when you nip back in to grab a drink because you know they're safe.

I've lived somewhere with an awkward garden in terms of accessibility and it just results in you barely or not using it because of the faff.

I wouldn’t touch it for these reasons:

• Toddler twins and a duplex with two flights of stairs sounds nightmare enough without the garden thing thrown in

• The garden set up just sounds such hard work with little ones

• The freehold thing sounds like it’s got the potential to be messy as fuck.

Sorry :(

It's 100% freehold since the gentleman who owned it, owned the entire building. He was quite a businessman and had quite a few properties on the same road. The EA has said he'll double check if the sale of the flat will include the leasehold for the flat below.

The EA is not a legally trained professional. They don't generally understand the way freehold and leasehold work, so they are likely to tell you anything to convince you to buy the flat.

Most mortgage lenders will not lend on a freehold flat so I don't think you are buying a freehold flat. If the gentleman owned the freehold for the building, then you are likely buying a leasehold flat and the freehold for the entire building which makes you responsible for any maintenance works to the building, including that of the flat downstairs.

Most mortgage lenders will not lend on a freehold flat so I don't think you are buying a freehold flat. If the gentleman owned the freehold for the building, then you are likely buying a leasehold flat and the freehold for the entire building which makes you responsible for any maintenance works to the building, including that of the flat downstairs.

It's says freehold in the property listing and EA confirmed this. I had no idea freehold flats were unmortgagable :/ that's this thread null and void then 😭

Assuming England or Wales. Obtaining a mortgage will probably be fine, because the flat will be leasehold.

See below lenders' criteria on freehold flats

lendershandbook.ukfinance.org.uk/lenders-handbook/englandandwales/question-list/1836/

I had a 2 bed maisonette (shared freehold) with exactly that arrangement, in London. Down the stairs, out of the door and turned through a gate and arch in the hedge into the private garden. I loved it. Garden flats were so hard to find, it was brilliant but I didn't have children at the time.

I've had a detached house since but I have never left my toddler unattended outside, it only takes a split second for something to go wrong.

[quote Frecklespy]Assuming England or Wales. Obtaining a mortgage will probably be fine, because the flat will be leasehold.

See below lenders' criteria on freehold flats

lendershandbook.ukfinance.org.uk/lenders-handbook/englandandwales/question-list/1836/[/quote]
We're most likely to be going with the Halifax- that's who our AIP is with. They don't mortgage freehold flats. Is there a way around this I wonder?

Deal breaker for me too. I used to live in a bungalow with a garden but to access it you had to walk onto the front garden by a busy road and then down the side to garden. It was a nightmare especially with my son. We couldn't leave him on his own and if we did go out there as a family we had to lock the front door as anyone could have walked in. Was a right pain for getting a drink, food, toilet etc as had to keep unlocking, locking up again

I lived in this type before falling pregnant. Never used the garden and then when baby arrived still didn't use garden. Had garden toys gifts as baby grew and so badly wanted to be able to use the garden but logistically it didn't work. I always felt like I had to pack up to go out for the day and remember door keys, then when potty training we would be in and out. It was easier to go to the park. Anyway we ended up moving and now have direct access to garden and i can't believe how much we missed out on by being in the previous property