LEASEHOLD

D. J. Napper, FRICS - Chartered Surveyor

LEASEHOLD Property

APPENDIX TO THE Home Buyer Report

PLEASE NOTE: This Appendix is an integral part of the

HOMEBUYER Report for all Leasehold Properties.

Everybody planning to buy a Leasehold property (most

flats and maisonettes and a few other properties are

Leasehold) is advised to pay particular attention to the

terms of the Lease.

Your Legal Advisors, who are responsible for checking the Lease for you, do not normally see the Property - so it is only the Surveyor who has the opportunity to note any specific features which may have legal implications. Any such matters are reported in Section E: Legal & Other Matters (where you are advised to pass a copy of the Report immediately to your Legal Advisers). In arriving at the opinion of the Market Value of the Property (Section G: Valuation), unless otherwise stated the Surveyor assumes that all the terms of the Lease which might have an effect on the value of the Property are standard ones*, and that only a small ground rent is payable. This should not be relied upon, however, without being checked by your Legal Advisers. You are advised to ask your Legal Advisers to supply the answers to the following questions:

a) Are the other flats occupied by owners or tenants?

b) Is there a Management Company and/or Managing

Agent correctly set up to deal with the running and

maintenance of the block containing the Property?

c) Does a suitable annual maintenance and

replacement fund exist, with suitable reserves, to

deal with general cleaning, maintenance and repair

of the common parts, and repairs to the main

structure, centralised heating installation, lifts, etc?

d) What is the ground rent; what sum was last paid as a

maintenance/service charge, and what period did it

cover; and are the maintenance/service charge

accounts satisfactory and up-to-date?

e) Is there evidence of regular maintenance of services;

and are there satisfactory current certificates for the

testing/servicing/maintenance of the following

common services (1) the lifts; (2) the fire escapes and

fire alarms; (3) the security system(s); (4) any

common water/heating system; and (5) other

communal facilities?

f) Are there any existing or foreseeable management

problems or disputes, or any known outstanding

repairs or programmed works, which would affect

the level of the service/maintenance charge payable?

g) Is the liability clearly set out - as between the

Leaseholders, the Freeholder and the Management

Company - for repairs to the Property and to the

common parts and the main structure; is the liability

shared equally between Leaseholders; and is there

suitable machinery for settling any disputes which

may arise in this area?

h) Is it the Management Company or each individual

Leaseholder who is responsible for the building

insurance, and is there a block insurance policy?

i) Are there any unusual restrictions on the sale of the

property?

Full details of these assumptions are available from

the Surveyor. The most important are, in brief :

• If there are more than six properties in the building,

the Property is managed either directly by the

freeholder or by a professional managing agent;

• If there is more than one block in the development,

the Lease terms apply (except for upkeep of

common roads, paths, ground and services) only to

the block containing the Property;

• There are rights of access and exit over all

communal roadways, corridors, stairways etc., and

to use communal grounds, parking areas and other

facilities;

• Where there is more than one Leaseholder, all the

Leases are the same in all important respects;

• The Lease has no particularly troublesome or unusual

restrictions;

• There is no current dispute over the Lease or any

outstanding claim or lawsuit concerning it;

• The unexpired term of the lease is 70 years;

• The Property is fully insured