Ground Rent

[jaycee401]

I am selling a leasehold property. 3 bed cottage with an original 999 year lease with 889 or so left on it. Do I need to contact the freeholder (management company) I have heard that I need an information pack from them for my buyer?? My solicitor is aware of who the freeholder is and I presume its him who will inform them of the change of ownership?

[Old_Geezer]

If you are on the way out now you may think it a little late for consideration but, isn't it easier to buy the freehold and avoid the ground rent fiasco altogether ?

Sorry I don't have the knowledge to answer your direct question but I'm sure someone will be along any minute.

[themas]

I think your solicitor should do whatever is necessary. If you are concerned about it, ask him/her.

[parkesquay]

Not quite correct. You will be sent a list of questions from your solicitor for your prospective purchasers solicitor which require you to give answers such as ground rent, maintenance costs etc.plus details of your management company and freeholder(might be same person in your case). When you have completed the forms they go back to your solicitors to forward to your purchasers solicitors.
Purchasers solicitor will then send a list of 'silly' questions to management company who will then cheerfully charge(you)silly money for answering them.
My best advice is for you to contact your solicitors to confirm/ask what actions you need to do next. It is what you are paying them for.
Hope I have that right and it helps

[Peter Pedant]

These ( ground rents ) are common in Lancs
and I sat and waited for a demand.

In fact the free holder had gone bankrupt and we all held out collective breaths. The commissioners in bankrupcy auctioned them ( without telling us ) and we had a back dated demand for ground rent.

BUT they can only demand six y back and CANNOT demand money up front.

The seller had at my solicitors behest indemnified me for six years ground rent ( so they knocked off £180 from the price ). And when the demand came they just got it wrong by one year ! - oo a mistake the pretty girlie said at the other end of the phone when I pointed out it had been paid for the year 1997.

So I wait for a demand and only pay it for the time in arrears ( twice yearly )

There was a lot of litigation about this in the eighteenth century apparently, and there is a huge number of rules the principal one being they cant demand it up front.

The going rate to buy out is 10 x the ground rent
and the advice I was given is that it is never worth while

and I think that is because of the effect of inflation. I pay £ 25 every six months ( by cheque ) and I dont think they can screw you if they havent demanded it.

You have to be careful for small rents they may demand five years up front but they arent allowed to ( ie cant enforce it. It is a request and not a demand ).

I have run out of things to say about ground rent

[sandyRoe]

PP, is there anything more to say?