Buying Freehold

[Allfurcoatandnoknickers]

We've just received a letter from Korax LLP saying they are offering us to buy our Freehold for £1,900 - this offer ends at the end of the month. We've only lived in the house just under a year, and the original lease is from the 1930's with a long term. I want to buy it but wondered if anyone had any dealings with Korax LLP or any advice to offer? I'm not sure where, but I'm pretty sure I've heard bad things about Korax - have I imagined this??

I would contact your solicitor to establish if you can buy the freehold from the existing freeholder. They can also advise of any impact [change in annual leasehold fees] that might occur if the leasehold was sold on.

Owning your freehold will make your home more valuable and much easier to sell. I can't give you any feedback about Korax LLP but a property lawyer will know if they have a reputation.

We bought out lease, our house is 1920s and has an old fashioned lease too. We instructed a solicitor to oversee everything. I would really suggest you buy it, have you read your lease? They're often full of restrictions and you don't really own the home, you're just leasing it. It'll also be more desirable to re sell on

Sorry also ours cost £700 for the lease and the solicitor fees cost £1200 I think

Thanks. Think I need to have a look at this in more detail. We owned another long leasehold house before for 25 years and never had one letter offering to buy the freehold so I'm a bit suspicious! Also at the back of my mind I seem to remember watching a tv programme about Korax llp a while ago and it's playing on my mind as I don't think they were very reputable!

There are leases and there are leases.

Some of the modern ones have all sorts of onerous and restrictive terms and are basically designed to extract more money out of the house purchaser after they have purchased the house.

Other older ones give the freeholders hardly any rights and deliver peppercorn ground rents.

The key is not to get swayed by the "it's the freehold so I must have it mentality" but to understand what value you get out of paying the money that the freeholder wants for it, and whether purchasing it represents a good deal.

How long does your lease last in total?

What’s the ground rent?

800 years from 1929 and we pay £5 pa to Korax Llp. I'm trying to speak to someone on the road who has purchased their Freehold through Korax as they had also heard not so great things about them.

Presumably you insure and do all the maintenance yourself?

In which case I’d ask a local estate agent if owning the freehold makes much of a difference to value.

Yes we do. We only bought the house last year but yes could ask the Agents that. Most of the houses in our area of a similar age are long leaseholds.

Ask on the Facebook group, National Leasehold Campaign, you’ll get lots of good advice on there.

This. I've got a peppercorn lease, the only charge on it is for buildings insurance which i would need to buy anyway. It's got 150 years to run on it so not going to need to be renewed in my lifetime, for me buying the freehold would be stupid. If yours is the same I wouldn't bother.

Your other comments would suggest they're dumping assets and liabilities. They'll never make money from an 800 year lease apart from through selling it. For £5 a year id not engage.