South Kensington Living
South Kensington flats for sale
Here are some of the most important issues relating to South Kensington flats for sale.
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South Kensington flats for sale in period buildingsMany of the flats for sale in South Kensington result from the conversion of period houses. Throughout the Victorian period, the builders constructed ever larger family houses. But the introduction of railways allow families to live further out, and families became smaller. Most South Kensington flats for sale in period buildings are the result of conversions carried out from the 1970s onwards. If you are looking for South Kensington flats for sale in former large houses, make sure your surveyor checks the conversion was done properly. |
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South Kensington flats for sale in mansion blocksFor people interested in South Kensington flats for sale, it's important to check that the maintenance of the whole building is a communal matter. If you are considering South Kensington flats for sale in small buildings with maybe 2 or 3 flats, it is practical for each flat owner to repair his own area – but even so it is unfair for the top flat owner to have to repair the roof. The fairer method, which is usually adopted, is that everyone in a building shares the cost of maintaining the roof, foundations and services. Each flat contributes a proportion which is normally calculated by reference to floor area. South Kensington flats for sale with this kind of maintenance arrangement are more satisfactory. |
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Communal maintenance issues in the sale of South KensingtonYou will often find that South Kensington flats for sale are in buildings where the landlord is one of the traditional estates. Ideally, the leaseholders would own the freehold of the building and deal with communal repairs and services. Sometimes they will appoint managing agents. From this point of view you should look for South Kensington flats for sale where the flat owners share the cost of maintaining the roof, foundations and services by a service charge arrangement which may be administered by managing agents for them. |
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Check past alterations to South Kensington flats for saleYou (or your solicitors) need to check that past alterations to any South Kensington flats for sale you consider buying had all necessary permissions. Works to a listed building require special permission - Listed Building Consent – from the local council. The council will not grant this if alterations might damage the architectural or historical value of the block. Some alterations to South Kensington flats for sale – mainly to the front of a building – may have required planning permission. Almost any alterations to South Kensington flats for sale would have needed building regulation consent. This is the local council’s control over how building works are carried out. South Kensington flats for sale even with just internal alterations will almost certainly have required a written consent from the landlord. |
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South Kensington flats for sale with a right to extend the leaseMany South Kensington flats for sale have relatively short leases. In some circumstances the owner can have the lease extended. You need to be sure that the South Kensington flats for sale you are interested in come with this right. The first requirement is that their leases were originally granted for more than 21 years. The catch is that the right to extend can only be exercised by someone who has owned the flat for 2 years. So you will want the seller to exercise the right before you buy and transfer it to you. (Seller of South Kensington flat for sale which they haven't been living in also have this right. It’s a change from the old rule that the right only applied to resident owners.) The rules are more complicated than this short summary, so potential buyers of South Kensington flats for sale must take advice on the specific facts to check they can extend the lease term. The extra term is 90 years added to what remains of the existing term. The benefit is that South Kensington flats for sale with, say, a 50 year term get an extra 90 years. So the new leases would be 140 years (50 plus 90). |
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‘Diminution in value’ on lease extension of South Kensington flats for saleCalculating the price for extension leases of South Kensington flats for sale is a relatively complicated process. For qualifying South Kensington flats for sale, the buyer (of the extension term) would be entitled to a new term at nil rent. The landlord loses out by the amount of the ground rent he would have got till the end of the current term. So for most South Kensington flats for sale where the lease is to be extended there will be some compensation for the landlord for loss of that rent. |
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'Marriage value' on lease extension of South Kensington flats for saleFor South Kensington flats for sale with 80 years or more still to run, no marriage value is payable if the lease is extended. For South Kensington flats for sale with lease terms below 80 years, marriage value is payable to extend the lease. Marriage value is a hugely complicated issue which expert surveyors can argue over for days. But in the simplest terms, it is roughly the difference between the value of a flat with the extra term and the present value with its short term. This is then split equally between the flat owner and the landlord and so the flat owner has to pay half the extra value to the landlord (and therefore gets half free). This is usually the big item for lease extensions of South Kensington flats for sale. |
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Other costs in lease extensions of South Kensington flats for saleIn the case of South Kensington flats for sale with the proposal of making a claim to extend the lease, it's important that the offer made to the landlord is for a reasonable amount or the claim is considered invalid. |
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Impact on South Kensington flats for sale with share of freeholdWhen considering buying South Kensington flats for sale with relatively short leases, it's worth bearing in mind that an alternative to an individual lease extension is that the owners of several flats in the building can apply to buy the freehold of their building. It’s often called ‘the right to buy’. It’s a legal right which some flat owners in some blocks have. It’s quite complicated so this is just a very broad summary and you need legal advice on the specific facts in your case. There must be at least 2 flats. (The existence of commercial premises in the building can remove the right to buy.) two thirds of the qualifying flat owners must join in the application. Flat owners of flats qualify if their leases were originally granted for 21 years or more. So if the particular South Kensington flats for sale are in blocks where enough of the neighbours concur, you can join together to buy it. But I am not going to detail the prices or procedures since it’s more usual and easier for buyers of South Kensington flats for sale to simply go through the lease extension process as outlined above. |
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Use local estate agents when you have a South Kensington flat for saleMany problems in the process come down to planning or building regulation issues at the Council. One major advantage of having South Kensington estate agents in the deal - whether you are a buyer or a seller - is that South Kensington estate agents can just take a walk to the Council offices and press for whatever piece of paper it is which is holding everything up. Your solicitors may be chasing things up by post or phone, but there is nothing like a personal visit. South Kensington estate agents are used to this sort of thing and probably know exactly who to contact at the Council offices. |
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