Most\npurpose-built flats are sold on a leasehold<\/a> basis and the freehold remains with the\noriginal builder or a maintenance company. When you buy a freehold property,\nyou are buying ownership of the property and the land it is built on outright. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Conversion flats\nare sometimes sold with a share of freehold, meaning that the freehold is\nshared between the owners of either all or at least 50% of the flats in the\nbuilding. The freehold is usually managed via a jointly owned property management company<\/a>. When you buy a property using a shared ownership<\/a> scheme it will also be sold on a\nleasehold basis, although there can sometimes be the option to staircase<\/a> to freehold ownership once you own an\n100% share in the property. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are considering a leasehold property, make sure that you request a copy of the lease to peruse at your leisure since it is more difficult<\/a> to make any changes to a lease once you have bought the property or are tied in to the sale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For leasehold\nproperties, there is a generally a maintenance company to whom you pay service\ncharges for the upkeep of the property and your ground\nrent<\/a>. This may be the\noriginal developer or another company who has taken over this responsibility.\nIt is important to know who the original developer was if this is the case, as\nnoted below under health and safety requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is also\nimportant to find out who the current maintenance company is so that you can\nfind out how effectively they manage and maintain the property. Low service\nfees might sound great initially, but are they taking the necessary care of the\nproperty to ensure there are no costly maintenance issues to rectify down the\nline, or issues with resale value? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Online reviews\nfrom current and former leaseholders are always useful when trying to find out\nif a management company has a good reputation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n An issue which\nsadly came to light as a result of the Grenfell\nTower<\/a> tragedy in 2017\nis that of unsafe building materials in blocks of flats and in particular cladding.\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Grenfell Tower was completed in 1974 and composed of Aluminium Composite\nMaterial (ACM) cladding, which has been found to be highly dangerous and combustible.\nThe government has also raised concerned about the use of High Pressure\nLaminate (HPL) and Metal Composite Materials (MCM) as cladding so do your\nresearch to find out when a property was built and make sure whoever built the\nproperty was suitably qualified to do so and the relevant health and safety\nregulations have been and continue to be met. A number of flat owners have\ncurrently been left in limbo<\/a> in terms of being\nable to sell their properties while they await clarification that their\nproperties meet fire safety regulations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is also important to ensure there are suitable fire exits, stairs and\nprocedures in place, particularly for those living in larger complexes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a number of reasons<\/a> why buying a leasehold property with a\nshort lease remaining can be problematic and it can be difficult and costly to\nextend the lease. Make sure your property has at least 90 years left on the\nlease to avoid issues when it comes time to remortgage or sell up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n See our article on extending a lease<\/a> for more information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The lease will\nexplain the type and amount of service fees and ground rent charges you are\nliable for if you buy a flat on a leasehold basis. However, you will also need\nto pay attention to any clauses covering increases to either charge,\nparticularly ground rent. Leaseholders have seen many instances<\/a> of ground rents increasing\nsignificantly in a short space of time since they bought the property, with\nlimited recourse to appeal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even with a\nfreehold property, you will still be jointly responsible for the upkeep of\ncommunal areas and grounds, so it is important to ask the agent if they can\nthey give you an idea of yearly costs even if maintenance payments are made on\na more adhoc, as and when required, basis. Keep an eye out for potential money\npits like flat roofs as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your\nresponsibilities in relation to the flat will be included in the lease alongside\nany stipulations on how the space can be used, much like a rental agreement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For freehold\nproperties, make sure you have a legal document outlining your responsibilities\nas a freeholder and those of the other freeholders rather than merely anecdotal\nevidence. It may be that the financial costs of maintaining the property and\ngrounds are not split equally between all of the freeholders (say if someone\nowns a larger flat or more outdoor space), so it is important to know what you\nare responsible and liable for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance,\nis the garden owned by only one flat in the building or is it communal and, if\nso, are there any restrictions to use. Is there an allocated parking space, a\nshed or outbuilding that comes with the property or right of access\nstipulations that you should be aware of?<\/p>\n\n\n\n These questions are useful to ask with any property you may be interested in buying, but particularly when it comes to a flat, which by its very nature has a lot more communal space and access. You will need to ensure everything is outlined in your contract, fixtures and fittings document and\/or lease to be legally binding, but it is always helpful to ask these questions at an early stage to avoid any unnecessary delays during the transaction process or disappointments down the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whilst it is\nalways handy to have an idea of a vendor\u2019s motivation for selling to inform your\noffer price \u2013 since someone who is keen to move and has a deadline may be more\nwilling to accept less \u2013 it is also helpful to get an indication of other\nfactors which may be a reason for the sale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Obviously, an\nestate agent\u2019s priority is to sell the property, as is the vendor\u2019s, so they\naren\u2019t going to openly disclose a neighbour dispute or issues with the build\nwhich could put potential buyers off. However, savvy buyers can get as much of\na sense of what isn\u2019t being said by being observant and asking a few discreet\nquestions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you are\nliving at such close quarters to your neighbours (and particularly if you have\na middle or ground floor flat with neighbours above you), you really want to\nknow if noisy or inconsiderate neighbours are going to be an issue before it is\ntoo late to do anything about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Visiting the\nproperty at different times of day will give you a more realistic sense of\ntraffic and footfall when your neighbours are actually at home rather than a\nmidweek, midday visit when many people are likely to be at work. A little\nonline research via Rightmove or Zoopla to see if the property has been on the\nmarket frequently and when the current owners purchased the property will also\nbe helpful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Are other flats\nin the building owner-occupied or rental properties which could potentially\nhave a string of different tenants and\/or occupants who are less likely to take\ncare of communal areas? If you are looking for more of a community feel with your\nnearest neighbours then this may be a deal breaker, but if you are looking to\nbuy an investment property yourself then this might not be an issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are\nbuying a share of freehold, then it is likely you will need to join an existing\nflat management company with your fellow freeholders to manage the upkeep of\nthe property and grounds. It is therefore important to know who you will be\nsharing the freehold with in advance, since you will have certain legal responsibilities<\/a> and will need to trust that anyone you share the freehold\nwith will act in an honest and fair way while undertaking these\nresponsibilities. You can find the relevant information such as tax returns and\ndetails of company officers for each listed company on the Companies House website<\/a>, so make sure that you ask your agent\nfor the name and\/or officers of the limited company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though you\nare buying the flat and may therefore feel that you have a right to do as you\nplease within the property, many flats will come with an existing stipulation\nas to whether or not pets are allowed, regardless of freehold or leasehold\ntenure. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are an\nanimal lover this may be a dealbreaker for you and fido, but equally those who\nare not big animal fans should find out whether other residents in the building\nhave pets, thus avoiding nocturnal disturbances, unpleasant deposits or\nallergic reactions in communal areas. <\/p>\n\n\nWho is the\nmaintenance company and who built the flats originally? <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Have health\nand safety requirements been adhered to? <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How long is\nleft on the lease?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What are the\nservice and ground rent charges and how often are these charges reviewed?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Which areas of\nthe property and grounds are you responsible for?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What is\nincluded in the sale?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Why is the\nflat being sold? <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Who are your\nneighbours? <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Are pets\nallowed?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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