Question on groundrent...



Snaggletooth said:
The last house I lived in was leasehold. Lived there 10 years and paid £25 per year ground rent.
When I decided to sell it (4 years ago), it was virtually unsellable due to the lease "only" having 58 years left!!.
Had to buy the lease from from the leaseholders (Chancery St James). I made an offer of £1450 (58x£25) thinking that would be enough...how f***ing wrong was I??
Twelve grand they wanted....12 grand!!
After a few months of negotiating I got it down to £7500...still a hefty sum.
I had no choice to pay it it really, but harsh lesson learned. I wouldn't buy another leasehold.
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Aye that's who I pay the ground rent to. Mine is £33 a year. They quoted me 14k last year when I asked.
 
Raby Mackem said:
Aye that's who I pay the ground rent to. Mine is £33 a year. They quoted me 14k last year when I asked.
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Offer them 5k, they will come back with 12/13k....then offer 6k and so on. Your probably looking at 9-11k.
I didn't go through a solicitors either, it's easy enough to do. They (CStJ) were easy to deal with, just robbing bastards.
 
Snaggletooth said:
Offer them 5k, they will come back with 12/13k....then offer 6k and so on. Your probably looking at 9-11k.
I didn't go through a solicitors either, it's easy enough to do. They (CStJ) were easy to deal with, just robbing bastards.
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I am going to go back to them. Agree with you, its going to take about 9k, that was my view. I was just getting all my ducks in a row before I went back to them. Its good that you got a solution. The reality is folk are betting off sorting it, if they can.
 
max wartbug said:
When I sold a previous house, I had to pay unpaid ground rent before the sale could go through. Looks like your solicitor has cocked up when you bought it as there appears to have been 20 years outstanding. Pass that bit to him to sort out and pay the £20 you owe, so far.
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This. Your solicitor should have checked that all rents were paid to date when you bought the property and apportioned any of the annual payment between you and the seller for the part year when you first bought it. You shouldn`t have to be liable for the debts of another but your solicitor should have picked this up.
 
mickb2112 said:
This. Your solicitor should have checked that all rents were paid to date when you bought the property and apportioned any of the annual payment between you and the seller for the part year when you first bought it. You shouldn`t have to be liable for the debts of another but your solicitor should have picked this up.
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Would you really start a legal argument for the cost of a night out?
 
Mary Hinge said:
How long is ya lease though.....I've had shoite for years with Simarc, every time ye change tenant £90, plus £30 ground rent....cost me £120 for Fookin quote, but to buy Freehold is £5,300 which I'll pay, plenty of lease hold horror stories out there, but until ye own the freehold ya effectively paying rent and they'll screw ye if ye want to extend lease
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you would have been better spending that on English lessons matey. We may then understand what you`re on about
 
Emma Chisset said:
No, you can't ignore it. It's a legally enforceable debt.

I'm not sure, but don't think you're liable for the full 30 years. Common sense says only for the 10 years you've been living there.

It depends if the leaseholder wants to sell or not. He doesn't have to. If he did want to, then it would be a normal legal process like buying a house - with similar costs. Most important of all with leasehold though is to check how many years are remaining on it!

A very unfair system leaseholding, but it's a relic of all the land 'ownership' history of this country way back in the past.
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Depending on the property that you have (house or flat) there`s different rules but you DO have the right to buy your freehold if its a house or the right to a 99 year extension to your lease if you live in a flat. There are statutory formulae to follow depending on the term remaining, the ground rent payable and other variables. It`s very complex so if you did want to buy, do it through a solicitor. One thing to note, if the term remaining is less than 80 years then there will be additional marriage value to pay that can add a couple of grand extra onto the cost.
 
Funnily enough, just called the company who hold my leasehold today. There’s some legal bit they need to sort in the background which apparently doesn’t move very fast. When I spoke to them last year they said they’d be actively looking at sell as soon as they were in the position & mentioned £500. I’d bite their hands off for that.
 
Emma Chisset said:
No, you can't ignore it. It's a legally enforceable debt.

I'm not sure, but don't think you're liable for the full 30 years. Common sense says only for the 10 years you've been living there.

It depends if the leaseholder wants to sell or not. He doesn't have to. If he did want to, then it would be a normal legal process like buying a house - with similar costs. Most important of all with leasehold though is to check how many years are remaining on it!

A very unfair system leaseholding, but it's a relic of all the land 'ownership' history of this country way back in the past.
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Seek legal advise on that, I know of a similar case where the current owner was forced to pay.
 
Longy said:
Funnily enough, just called the company who hold my leasehold today. There’s some legal bit they need to sort in the background which apparently doesn’t move very fast. When I spoke to them last year they said they’d be actively looking at sell as soon as they were in the position & mentioned £500. I’d bite their hands off for that.
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Dream on sunbeam, Fookin scam this leasehold shoite
 
You are only liable to pay 6 years worth of ground rent, as that is the maximum amount permitted under the statute of limitations.

Before making an offer to a freeholder, instruct a specialist leasehold valued (a guy called Michael Boaden is excellent) It will be worthwhile, as it should save you money. Freehold owning management companies stick their finger in the air when coming up with an amount to buy the freehold, and I’ve seen the final true amount being half of some of the amounts initially mentioned
 
legend of Dickie Ord said:
You are only liable to pay 6 years worth of ground rent, as that is the maximum amount permitted under the statute of limitations.

Before making an offer to a freeholder, instruct a specialist leasehold valued (a guy called Michael Boaden is excellent) It will be worthwhile, as it should save you money. Freehold owning management companies stick their finger in the air when coming up with an amount to buy the freehold, and I’ve seen the final true amount being half of some of the amounts initially mentioned
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This fella?

Michael Boaden | MJ Boaden Chartered Surveyors
 
legend of Dickie Ord said:
You are only liable to pay 6 years worth of ground rent, as that is the maximum amount permitted under the statute of limitations.

Before making an offer to a freeholder, instruct a specialist leasehold valued (a guy called Michael Boaden is excellent) It will be worthwhile, as it should save you money. Freehold owning management companies stick their finger in the air when coming up with an amount to buy the freehold, and I’ve seen the final true amount being half of some of the amounts initially mentioned
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Simarc Fookas want about 5% of the house value, lease is below 70 years......reasonable?
 
Falconhoof said:
I've lived in my house which I've a mortgage on for ten years and just received the first bill for groundrent. According to the letter it hasn't been paid for over thirty years. It's barely two quid a year.
I understand legally I should have to pay it but since it hasnt been paid for so long could I ignore it?
Would I be liable to the full 30+ years owed?
Could I buy the leasehold easily enough?
It's probably cost the solicitors more in office time and paperwork to post this out. Would it be an expensive process to buy the leasehold?
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Sounds like a 999 year lease so the purchase of the freehold should be small as the unexpired term is so long, but there will be legal costs. If the price is too high and can't agree you can go to tribunal. I used to value these things some years ago. If you are based in the North East and want the name of another chartered surveyor to act for you let me know.
 
Mary Hinge said:
Simarc Fookas want about 5% of the house value, lease is below 70 years......reasonable?
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Honestly couldn’t tell you. I’m not a valuer if I’m afraid. You need a valuer to tell you whether the price is reasonable or not. I suspect they will be trying it on to begin with.

A valuer will be able to tell you whether it’s worth accepting their initial offer or appealing (this can be done by a statutory route if you satisfy certain conditions, namely you have owned the property more than 2 years), taking into account all fees (valuer valuation, negotiation, legal fees). It’s worth pointing out if you appeal down the statutory route, you are also liable for the freeholders costs.

However, as someone has mentioned above, the cost does increase quite significantly once the lease falls under 80 years.
 
legend of Dickie Ord said:
Honestly couldn’t tell you. I’m not a valuer if I’m afraid. You need a valuer to tell you whether the price is reasonable or not. I suspect they will be trying it on to begin with.

A valuer will be able to tell you whether it’s worth accepting their initial offer or appealing (this can be done by a statutory route if you satisfy certain conditions, namely you have owned the property more than 2 years), taking into account all fees (valuer valuation, negotiation, legal fees). It’s worth pointing out if you appeal down the statutory route, you are also liable for the freeholders costs.

However, as someone has mentioned above, the cost does increase quite significantly once the lease falls under 80 years.
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Knaaaa think £5.3k to get rid of these twots is a bargain....
 

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