What does leasehold mean?
Leasehold means that you own the property, but the land upon which the property is built is owned by the freeholder (or landlord). This gives you the right to occupy the property for as long as the lease is valid.
What is a homebuyer report?
A homebuyer report is the most popular property survey for buyers. An economic but detailed survey, suitable for most residential properties.
What is a condition report?
A Condition report or Home condition report (HCR) is generally suitable for smaller and newer properties and serves as a valuable “MOT” for homeowners looking to assess the general condition of their home. It should be used for a conventional house, flat or bungalow built from common building materials which is in reasonable condition.
This report provides a succinct overview of a residential property and focuses purely on the condition of the property by giving ratings to the different parts of the building and flagging up any areas that need attention. It is a basic ‘traffic light’ survey.
Why do I need a shared ownership valuation?
Whether you are selling your shared ownership property or buying further shares in it (known as staircasing), it’s important to know the true value of the 100% market value of your property so you can make informed decisions and to ensure the housing provider is demonstrating best practice. To do this you will require a RICS Market Valuation.
When selling a shared ownership property you have to offer your share of the property back to the housing association to sell on to their list of current affordable housing buyers at the property valuation price.
Our surveyors can provide your valuation quickly so you can make an informed confident decision armed with all of the facts.
Please note, often your shared ownership documentation will insist on a valuation being within 3 months of the date you go on the market or exchange contracts.
What is a Vesting Order?
In simple terms, a vesting order is a court order that creates or transfers legal ownership of a property instead of a legal conveyance (the act of transferring an ownership interest in property from one party to another). It is discretionary and results from a finding by a court that fairness demands that the court act in a way to transfer property from one party to another.
What is a First Tier Tribunal?
The First Tier Tribunal is part of the court system in the United Kingdom. The First tier tribunal (Property Chamber) has 5 regional offices throughout England that deal with settling disputes in relation to leasehold property and the private rented sector.
Tribunal hearings are quite informal, you can state your own case or have a friend or professional speak for you. The tribunal normally sits as a panel of 3 consisting of one legally trained member, one surveyor and one lay (ordinary) person to provide a balanced view. The panel have control over the court hearing and decide in which order things are dealt with.
What is a Freehold?
A Freehold is the complete ownership of a piece of land and all immovable structures built on it.
If you buy a freehold, you’re responsible for maintaining your property and land, so you’ll need to budget for these costs. Most houses are freehold but some might be leasehold, usually through share-ownership schemes.
What is a freehold enfranchisement?
A freehold enfranchisement (also known as a collective enfranchisement) is the right for the owners of flats in a building and sometimes part of a building, to join together and buy the freehold of that building or an extended lease of their premises.
What is a Section 13 Notice?
A Section 13 Notice must be used by a landlord to notify a tenant of their intention to increase the rent. Under the Housing Act 1988 a Section 13 Notice can be issued by a landlord in order to increase the rent but only after the initial fixed period has expired and cannot be issued during the fixed term of tenancy.
What is a Leasehold?
With a leasehold, you own the property and its land for the length of your lease agreement with the freeholder. When the lease ends, ownership returns to the freeholder, unless you can extend the lease. Most flats and maisonettes are owned leasehold.
What is a Leasehold or Freehold Enfranchisement?
A leasehold or freehold enfranchisement (also known as a collective enfranchisement) is the right for the owners of the flats in a building and sometimes part of a building, to join together and buy the freehold of that building or an extended lease of their premises.
What is Marriage Value?
Marriage value is applicable to leasehold properties. It is the increase in value of the property following the completion of a lease extension or collective enfranchisement, reflecting the added market value of the longer lease.
What is a Leasehold Acquisition Order?
Under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 leaseholders can acquire the freehold of their building where a landlord is in consistent breach of their management obligations over a long period of time. This is obtained by application to the County Court for a compulsory acquisition order. The right to acquire the freehold via an acquisition order is only given to qualifying tenants - those under a long lease which was originally granted for a term of more than 21 years.
What is a Building Survey?
A Building Survey (previously known as a full Structural Survey) is a wide-ranging inspection of a property, dealing with hard to reach places and structural issues. It is the most comprehensive of the surveys available for residential properties and provides a detailed evaluation of the condition of a property. Although one of the more expensive options of survey available, the level of detail in the final report makes it vital, especially when buying older properties.
What is Reinstatement Cost?
The Reinstatement Cost (also known as rebuild cost or building sum insured) of your home, is the amount it would cost to completely rebuild the property from scratch if it were totally destroyed, by a fire for example. It is required for building insurance applications and is the amount of money for which your home is insured in case of total loss. It includes, costs of clearing the site, materials, labour and professional fees. It is not the same as the value of your home. Reinstatement costs are for an accurate reconstruction of your property whereas market value is simply what the property is worth as a whole finished product.
What is Market Rent value?
Market rent value is the amount of money a property would rent or lease for if it was available at a specific time. It is an experts judgement based on knowledge, appraisal, intuition and comparison of the local rental market to discern a fair rental value for a property in the same condition in the same area.
What is a Participation Agreement?
A participation agreement is a contract between all the leaseholders of a property participating together in the joint purchase of their freehold and it provides a legal basis for the action.
What is a Section 5 Notice?
A Section 5 Notice is the legal notice the freeholder of a property must serve on their leaseholders (tenants) if they wish to sell their freehold. It gives the leaseholders a ‘right of first refusal’ to buy the freehold before the landlord offers it on the open market. The freeholder cannot sell to another party within that time or offer the freehold for less than proposed in the notice.
What is a Section 42 Notice?
A Section 42 Notice (also known as a Tenant’s Notice) is served on the landlord/freeholder of a property and starts the purchase of the freehold or lease extension process. Once a valuation of the property has been carried out by your surveyor they will send the valuation on to your solicitor. Next, your solicitor will serve a Section 42 Notice on your landlord/freeholder advising the amount you are willing to pay for the freehold.
What is a Section 45 Notice?
This standard document is a landlord's counter notice to a leaseholders Section 42 notice.
On receipt of the Section 42 notice, the freeholder has 2 months to prepare and send a Section 45 notice back to the leaseholder, offering complete acceptance of the terms, complete rejection, or a counter proposal, including a revised premium and any other terms that they would like to include.
What is the First Tier Tribunal?
The First Tier Tribunal is part of the court system in the United Kingdom. The First tier tribunal (Property Chamber) has 5 regional offices throughout England that deal with settling disputes in relation to leasehold property and the private rented sector.
What is Ground Rent?
If your property is a leasehold property you'll have to pay an annual charge, known as ground rent, to the person who owns the freehold.
Who is the District Valuer?
District Valuer Services (DVS) is the specialist property arm of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). They provide independent, impartial, valuation and professional property advice across the entire public sector, and where public money or public functions are involved.
What is an Insurance Reinstatement figure?
This is the amount of money for which your home is insured in case of total loss. The Reinstatement Cost (also known as rebuild cost or building sum insured) of your home, is the amount it would cost to completely rebuild the property from scratch if it were totally destroyed, by a fire for example. It is required for building insurance applications and it includes, costs of clearing the site, materials, labour and professional fees. Having an accurate reinstatement value is vital to both commercial and residential clients to ensure, in the event of a claim, that they are neither under nor over-insured.
What is Conveyancing?
Conveyancing is the legal transfer of a property from one owner to another. The process involves a conveyancing solicitor or licensed conveyancer who acts on behalf of the buyer to ensure their client receives the title deeds to the property and the land it sits on.
What is a Snagging Survey?
A Snagging Survey (or snagging list) is a visual survey done by a surveyor to check the quality of workmanship against applicable standards on a new build property. It is done to spot problems with your new build home. These may be small and cosmetic, to significant and structural. The list should then be passed to the developer in order for them to complete any outstanding items and rectify any significant issues found.
What is a Section 21 Notice?
A Section 21 Notice is used by a landlord to evict a tenant from their property without having to give a reason why. It is also known as an ‘eviction notice’, ‘notice to quit’ or a ‘notice seeking possession’. It can only be used to evict tenants who have an assured shorthold tenancy (AST).
What is Capital Gains Tax?
Capital gains tax (CGT) is payable when you sell an asset that has increased in value since you bought it. The rate varies based on a number of factors, such as your income and size of gain. For residential property it may be 18% or 28% of the gain (not the total sale price).
What is Inheritance Tax?
Inheritance Tax (IHT) is a tax on the estate of someone who has died, including all property, possessions and money.
What is Non-Domicile Tax?
A non-domicile is a UK resident whose permanent home, or domicile, is outside of the UK.
Key to non-dom. tax status is that an individual must pay UK tax on UK earnings, but need not pay UK tax on foreign income or gains unless they bring that income back to the UK.
What is Probate?
Probate is the process of dealing with the estate of someone who has died - which generally means clearing their debts and distributing their assets in accordance with their will.
What is a Leasehold Enfranchisement Section 13 Notice?
A Leasehold Enfranchisement Section 13 Notice - also known as an Initial Notice, is the formal notice which, when it's sent through to your landlord/freeholder, triggers off the official statutory collective enfranchisement process.
What is a Leasehold Enfranchisement Section 21 Notice?
This standard document is a landlord's counter notice under section 21 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (LRHUDA 1993) admitting the tenants' claim to acquire the freehold of their property.
What is an Expert Witness Report?
An expert witness report is used to inform a court of law on matters that are outside its expertise. An expert’s opinion is set out in a report as instructed by the court and is used to help reach a decision in order to resolve the dispute before it.
What is Property Litigation?
Property litigation is a field of law that deals with disputes relating to all kinds of property. It typically involves settling any disputes between property owners and their tenants and also includes a wide range of other matters involving the ownership of residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural property.
What is a Market Rent Review Clause?
A market rent review clause is a provision within a lease to enable changes to the rent at regular intervals during the term of the lease to reflect the market value of the property.
What does the term ‘demised to you in your lease’ mean?
Put in basic terms, in this instance, it relates to which parts of the property have been transferred to you under your lease and which parts have been retained by the freeholder/landlord.
What is a Secured Lending Valuation?
Whether you are securing a business loan against the value of a commercial or other premises or seeking finance to undertake a development project, a lender will require a valuation to ensure that the property they are lending against provides good security. The purpose of having a loan valuation completed is to establish whether the amount of the loan can be secured against the value of the property and, should you default on the loan, whether the lender can realistically recoup the amount.
What is Vertical Division of a property?
Vertical division of a property is where the flats or apartments within a building must be self-contained from ‘earth to sky’ constituting a vertical division of the building. Services must be independent to that part of the building or be able to be provided without significant interruption to the remaining part.
What is a Participation Agreement?
A participation agreement is a contract between all the leaseholders of a property participating together in the joint purchase of their freehold and it provides a legal basis for the action.
What is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST)?
An assured shorthold tenancy (AST) is the most common type of tenancy if you rent from a private landlord or letting agent. It entitles the landlord to a possession order immediately after the initial agreed rental period, which is usually for six months. The landlord is therefore able to evict the tenant after the initial fixed term without a legal reason.
What is a Peppercorn Ground Rent?
A peppercorn ground rent is just that, very small just like a peppercorn, often in the region of £10 per year & generally fixed for the duration of the lease.
What is a Soldier Course?
A soldier course is one in which bricks are laid standing on end with the narrow edge facing out. This type of brick course is sometimes used for decorative effects over door and window openings and in fireplace facings.
What is the BRE Digest 251?
The Building Research Establishment (BRE) assessed a number of properties as part of a study that was published as BRE Digest 251 Assessment of damage in low-rise buildings. This document identified six categories of cracks together with the typical damage caused and the remedy required.
Japanese Knotweed
What is a Rhizome?
A rhizome is a continuously growing horizontal underground stem which puts out lateral shoots and roots at intervals.
