freehold issue

[nebs]

Hi all, i bought a repossessed home in 2000 and it was assumed freehold, we just assumed it was, turns out that the previous owner still owns the freehold (although i thought it would have come with the house as it was repossessed, also we have never paid any ground rent and she doesn't know she owns it) the problem we have is that we are thinking of selling but we can't sell as the lease has less than 60 years left. The solicitor we used at the time of purchase closed down the same year and I wonder if he completed properly before closing? Has anyone been in the same position or know of a resolution without us having to pay out thousands??? any advice would be appreciated

[Diana M]

Re: freehold issue

You appear to have bought the leasehold not the Freehold.

Since you have owned the lease for more than two years you need legal advice on whether you have the automatic right to enfranchise the Freehold i.e. legally seize it in exchange for a sum of money based on a formula including the potential loss of Ground Rent etc (marriage value). Or in the very least extend the lease by 99 years.

If you do have the right then it may make sense to start the process of enfranchisement (serve the relevant Notice on the Freeholder) and the legal process can travel with the sale. Ditto any lease extension.

However you need formal legal advice on the pros and cons since this could trigger all sorts of legal issues if you have been unwittingly in breach of your lease for all these years.

You can call the Leasehold Advisory Service free helpline for background information but sometimes you need to call a lawyer when there may be large sums of money at risk - find one which specialises in property law.

Di

[Peridot]

Re: freehold issue

Hi nebs,
I would contact the law society regarding the previous solicitor closing down. There is a chance the paperwork is held somewhere following the closure, although it is a slim one due to the length of time passed. Worth checking though.
You should have been provided a copy of the lease during the purchase and advice given on the effects of it.
I assume that you have obtained copies of the Land Registry information, which confirms how you hold the property and who the freeholder is? If not I would suggest getting these which can be done here for a nominal fee for each copy of the register (there will be 2, you need the leasehold and the freehold information) :- https://www.gov.uk/search-property-i...-land-registry
Did you have a mortgage to purchase the property at the time? It would be unusual for a mortgage to be approved if the lease was not of a sufficient length, although I suppose it would have been 75 years or so then, or did the lender believe it was a freehold property?
If you genuinely had no idea you were purchasing a leasehold property and your conveyancers did not inform you of this, there may be a claim in professional negligence, but you will need to gather as much information as possible before exploring this further with a professional negligence law specialist. If you have any of the original paperwork it would be worth digging it out and checking exactly what was said at the time.
Here for pointers if needed once you have the further information.