Owning your own home

A friend of mine has just bought a place with 17 acres near Wisbech. He's bought a tractor. He's very happy, but I'm not sure he's getting a lot of work done. Not paid work anyway.

I hate beams

There wouldn't be anything stopping you chopping up the land up and sell it separately with a place like that would there?
Like just sell one of the other cottages and a few acres?

I'm in the process of buying somewhere which has communal grounds and a management co. The property itself is freehold and all I've been told so far is:
Each freeholder is a member of the management co;
The service charge last year was £xx.

What else should I ask? The communal grounds amount to a small swimming pool, tennis court and quite a bit of surrounding land under grass. It's a development of holiday homes. The use and enjoyment of the surrounding land has the potential to significantly add to or detract from the overall holiday home experience.

1. Sinking fund? Yes/no/how much.
   
2. Any anticipated capital expenditure over the next five years?
   
3. Current levels of service charge arrears.
   
   

And also get your solicitor to check what the charging mechanism is for the service charges - it's not straightforward when the properties are freehold.

Excellent; will add those to the list.

Many thanks.

I'd also add requesting details of significant past expenditure, date, duration, cost and whether they depleted the sinking fund should one exist, or were the contributors hit with large one off bills.

The rights to use the communal areas, times they are available (if you're nearby you may not want people swimming at 3 in the morning), if they're available all year round, do non-residents use them, is insurance in place (particularly liability insurance for someone drowning, breaking a leg, etc)

All good points.

Swimming at 3am can gtfo as the pool is about 50 yards away from my (potential) gaff.

It all seemed very sleepy hollow when I viewed the place, but that was in early Feb, may be a slightly different scenario in July.

It's deepest Suffolk so hard to imagine anything very raucous happening, but I guess you never know...

Swinger community, mandatory orgies in the pool at midnight May-Aug.

Link please

Asking for a friend.

Swinger community

was one of the selection criteria.

Yes but Wisbech. I guess he's banking on the reopening of the train station to make it less unbearable.

Also, who actually manages it? Does the management company employ someone? Are you all expected to commit some time, on what basis are decisions made, etc?

Happily, it's not in Wisbech. It's not in anywhere, other than the middle of bloody nowhere.

It's deepest Suffolk so hard to imagine anything very raucous happening, but I guess you never know...

Check for Pampas Grass in the area or else it'll be what DethBeard said.

If it’s holiday homes, check for covenants that prohibit year round occupation.

If it’s holiday homes, check for covenants that prohibit year round occupation.

Yes, it has one of those. No occupation from 2nd week in Jan to 3rd week in Feb, something like that. I think that is reflected in the price and I don't see it as being a problem as we are not intending to live there full time.

Anecdotally, I've been told that it's not enforced but I'm not depending on that.

Mmmm lol

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Quite a sight.

Looks a bit like my house... 15 years ago.

Victorian townhouses...

Builders have been in for three days, hadn’t really prepared myself for the skeletal house. Looking through the stairs is a bit weird.

It's quite shocking, watching them go at your expensive bricks with hammers and fury. Worth it in the end, though.

First offer rejected. Even more sure it is their only offer. No counter offer. Doing a 2nd viewing. Will up it a little but not to our aim price yet.

Dogoncomputer.gif

Ask for a counter offer before second viewing. What ballpark are they willing to start discussing things.

Given that the ticket price seems unrealistic I think that’s fair to ask.