Jeffrey Shaw Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 7 hours ago, Stephen Parr said: I wonder if anyone here has encountered this problem? I’m currently trying to buy a house in Hillsborough. The emphasis is on “trying”. The previous owners bought the freehold from Coppen Estates, but there was a fault in the title, as the freehold didn’t cover the part of the house that extends over the common ginnel that gives access to the rear. It’s called a “flying freehold”. After months of inactivity, CE are now refusing to give us a flying freehold, which will probably make it very difficult to sell the house when the time comes, because we’re advised that mortgage companies will not offer a mortgage in these circumstances. So we’re wondering if we should proceed with the sale? Can anyone throw light on this ? Thanks. Why did the current vendors buy a technically defective title? Their solicitors ought to have noticed this. As per the preceding post, don't touch it unless your own solicitors can rectify matters before you commit yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Parr Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Thank you Jeffrey! Extremely useful. SP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodman Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Hi Jeffrey, i want to buy the freehold for my property from coppen (yearly rent = £50, remaining term = 99 years ) but i have to wait until next June by which point i will have owned the house for 2 years. At that point my intention is to contact you to discuss formally. I wondered if you could give me a rough estimate of cost based on the info above just so i have a general idea how much i need to have available by the time June comes around. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Shaw Posted November 26, 2019 Share Posted November 26, 2019 (edited) 15 hours ago, jodman said: Hi Jeffrey, i want to buy the freehold for my property from coppen (yearly rent = £50, remaining term = 99 years ) but i have to wait until next June by which point i will have owned the house for 2 years. At that point my intention is to contact you to discuss formally. I wondered if you could give me a rough estimate of cost based on the info above just so i have a general idea how much i need to have available by the time June comes around. Thanks. Price for f/r: don't know- but it's likely to be > £1500, as the lease's residue will be only about 98yrs. Coppen's fees: currently £500 + VAT for conveyancing work (even though, bizarrely, its solicitor confirms that his firm does NOT receive that amount!) plus £500 + VAT for valuation fee (even though, bizarrely, Coppen does not usually appoint any valuer and all negotiations tend to be direct with its Mr Pennington!) Purchase fees: usually about £600-£700 + VAT and about £50 of HMLR fees. Edited November 26, 2019 by Jeffrey Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodman Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 On 26/11/2019 at 13:02, Jeffrey Shaw said: Price for f/r: don't know- but it's likely to be > £1500, as the lease's residue will be only about 98yrs. Coppen's fees: currently £500 + VAT for conveyancing work (even though, bizarrely, its solicitor confirms that his firm does NOT receive that amount!) plus £500 + VAT for valuation fee (even though, bizarrely, Coppen does not usually appoint any valuer and all negotiations tend to be direct with its Mr Pennington!) Purchase fees: usually about £600-£700 + VAT and about £50 of HMLR fees. Thanks very much for this information Jeffrey, so just to confirm the rough estimate is £1500 + coppen fees (£1000 + VAT) + Purchase fees (£600-700 + vat) + HMLR fee (£50) bringing the rough estimate total to around £3500? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Shaw Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 Yes- assuming that my guess at the purchase price is accurate; please do not rely on this. However, it's important that you buy the freehold reversion as the lease's unexpired term is quite short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodman Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 17 minutes ago, Jeffrey Shaw said: Yes- assuming that my guess at the purchase price is accurate; please do not rely on this. However, it's important that you buy the freehold reversion as the lease's unexpired term is quite short. Understood, i appreciate your responses and i will be in touch in the new year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S6 Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) Looks like I'm dealing with these jokers now. They seem to have taken over my leasehold - I've had no contact for ground rent requests for a few years now, the previous landowner (or whatever the correct terminology is) always requested and was paid the ground rent promptly for the 30 years I've lived there, and today received a letter out of the blue from Coppen requesting £100+. However, most of this amount seems to be unspecified - there's a "balance brought forward" charge of £80+ which is far more than what the £12pa ground rent would have cost and a £12 admin fee for "overdue accounts", plus the ground rent charge for this year - but how can I have paid this before when I didn't even know the landowner had changed and had received no notification of this nor any requests for the ground rent in previous years? I'm quite happy to pay what I owe, i.e. the £12pa ground rent, I'm also happy to pay the backdated ground rent (I'm guessing about 3-4 years worth). But why should I pay their random admin charges and then the tacked on amount as well? I'm thinking of just sending them a cheque to cover this year's rent and requesting a breakdown of the balance brought forward charge as I'm happy to pay the ground rent portion of that but no more. Is this the best course of action (the alternative being rolling over and letting them rip me off), or will I be added to what seems like a long list of people that Coppen never respond to? Edited February 10, 2020 by John_S6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geared Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Have they sent you the payment request in the correct format? If not it's totally meaningless. Demand a breakdown of charges and familiarise yourself with what it is you're required to pay, then you'll know if they're ripping you off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Shaw Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 4 hours ago, geared said: Have they sent you the payment request in the correct format? If not it's totally meaningless. Yes re both aspects, as to which see the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/15/contents GROUND RENT: demand must comply with s.166 format/information. ADMINISTRATION FEES: demand must provide s.158 information. But Coppen does not comply with either provision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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