Local specialists in freehold purchase
Leasehold update – On November 27th, 2023, the Government introduced the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill.
Click here to read the Latest News on Leasehold Reform
Leasehold enfranchisement, or buying the freehold of your block, makes a lot of sense if you own a leasehold flat. And it’s a big issue in Bournemouth – where there are a significant number of leasehold flats.
In short, legislation gives you the right to enfranchise and buy that freehold – provided enough of your fellow leaseholders join you – and getting sufficient support is often the biggest obstacle, especially in larger blocks.
Got a question about any aspect of buying your block? Call our specialist legal team on 01202 834450 for FREE no strings attached initial phone advice.
Leasehold Enfranchisement – what’s in it for me?
That’s an easy one – plenty. In particular here are 5 great reasons to join together and buy the freehold of your block
- You and your fellow leaseholders take over block management. Controlling management of your block and making sure the right people maintain your building can be a huge advantage – and can often bring huge savings in service charges.
- Enfranchisement increases the value of your flat – often by a significant amount.
- You don’t have to put up with an ever shortening lease. You can grant yourself an extremely long lease extension, often 999
years, without making a payment – which in turn gives you more long-term security as well as increasing the value of your property - Leasehold enfranchisement means that you no longer have to pay any ground rent
- There are usually far fewer restrictions on your lease – although this of course depends on the terms of the new lease you sign with the new freehold company.
Click here to read more about lease enfranchisement and how it works.
NB if you have been offered the freehold by your freeholder under what is known as the “right of 1st refusal” the process is quite different. But our solicitors handle this on a regular basis and can help you.
Click here to read more about the Right of 1st Refusal
Is there any alternative to enfranchisement?
If you’re not bothered about owning a share of your block, and you’re more interested in improving the quality of the block management services, or cutting costs, then you have two other options – exercising your right to manage or asking the First Tier Property Tribunal to appoint a property manager.
Click here to read more about setting up a Right to Manage Company
Click here to read more about a Court Appointed Property Manager
My leasehold enfranchisement – do I really need a specialist solicitor?
We really think so. Our specialist team complete around 450 lease extension and enfranchisement cases for happy freeholders and leaseholders every year. over the years that means with helped somewhere like 10,000 people like you by the freeholder extend their leases.
And one of the most common problems we have is that too often when we represent freeholders, we we find lawyers representing the leasehold applicants who simply don’t know what they’re doing and are out of their depth. And non specialist solicitors without plenty of enfranchisement experience really struggle even more with more complex or disputed cases that end up at the First-Tier Tribunal Property Chamber.
The average property lawyer is great at conveyancing but comes across lease extension very rarely and may never have dealt with lease enfranchisement – that’s why far too many of them fail to understand the law or the procedure, miss deadlines and far too often make a complete dog’s breakfast of the entire case!
Don’t make that mistake – make sure the solicitor you appoint to buy the freehold of your block is a real expert with plenty of experience.
But it can prove hard to find the right specialist solicitor with plenty of the right experience.
That’s where we come in. We have a dedicated five strong specialist leasehold team whose work is entirely lease extension and enfranchisement for clients locally and nationwide – with years of acting for both leaseholders and freeholders, so we really understand both sides of the transaction and all the pitfalls to avoid. And we are members of ALEP (the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners) the only nationwide organisation for those few solicitors, surveyors and block management companies who specialise in freehold purchase.
That’s why you can rest assured that by instructing Bonallack and Bishop, the purchase of your freehold will be in safe hands.
Need a specialist in Bournemouth based surveyor to value the enfranchisement?
Getting the right valuation for the premium you will need to pay when buying your freehold is absolutely essential. Like solicitors,very few surveyors deal with more than the odd lease extension case – and very few have the kind of experience of leasehold enfranchisement you really need.
Fortunately we have the answer for you. We deal with so many lease extension and enfranchisement cases that we built up a nationwide panel of specialist valuers and surveyors. They include a number based in Bournemouth and the surrounding area.
When you instruct us, we are more than happy to pass your details onto one of our panel – or to instruct them on your behalf as part of our service in acting for you.
What happens if we can’t track down our freeholder?
Fortunately there is a solution – and although it may take a little longer to purchase your freehold if you’re freeholder is missing, it may work out cheaper. The key is what is known as “a vesting order”.
A Vesting Order is a powerful tool and although it’s most commonly used in your freeholder is completely absent, it’s also a really useful weapon if your freeholder fails to cooperate with the statutory lease extension or enfranchisement application. And our specialist leasehold team regularly handle vesting orders.
Click here to read more about leasehold property and absentee freeholders
Live in Bournemouth? Looking for Specialist Leasehold Enfranchisement Solicitors?
- Call our expert team today on (01202) 834450 or FREEPHONE 0800 1404544, or
- Complete the email enquiry form below to get in touch.
