It'll be for 30 flats. To get a ball park figure, add up all the ground rents that the freeholder can collect each year and multiply by 10. You'll pay more if there isn't much time left on the lease, less if there's a long time left. Don't take this to be anything more than a ball park figure though.

Hi Wirral23

I know it's a while since you posted this, just wondering if you managed to find out if the £22500 was for the freehold of all 30 flats, or just your son's?

We live in a similar sized block and I'm doing some initial research as to how much it will cost to buy our freehold.

Many thanks.

Your son really needs to have the freehold valued to ensure he is getting a reasonable deal. I used a site recently to get an idea of the cost of a lease extension. Alternatively, he could employ a chartered surveyor to value the freehold but this will cost him thousands. I would also advise him to search the web to see if there are any sites that could provide inexpensive but accurate freehold valuations. He would be unlikely to buy the freehold on his own as the s. 5 notice requires MORE THAN 50% to accept the offer. However, as it is now too late to accept the offer collectively, he might try to match the offer, if the price is right! He should employ a management company to maintain the building as property managaement is not easy! Buying the freehold will give the residents, usually (but the check the lease in case it is tripartitie, as this will not give them management controll), overall management control and will enable them to keep costs down. If the tenants have missed the boat, they could always buy the freehold using the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 and force the landlord to sell the freehold at a reasonable price, set by the LVT if need be. There are plenty of sites on the web that offer this sort of advice but they all want your business!!! I've visited loads and they all appear to offer the same service so, shop around until you find one that suits your son - remember, this is a specialist area of legal work, not an area that can be done, necessarily, by a conveyancer. Be warned!!! Hope this helps.

I always think its good to own at least a share of the freehold.

tell your son to wait until the outcome of the meeting. A group of residents may eant to purchase a the frehoold, the cost being split between the number of people who wish to purchase.

depending on what the lease terms of the flat state when it comes to a renewal (say you flat has 75 yrs left, lots of buyers will expect you to renew as this is quite low) you will have to pay a cost (what the freeholder thinks is far) plus legal cost to get the lease renewed, this could cost thousands.

if a group of people own the freehold you can set up a company to manage the administration side, running it yourself or letting another company administer it on the freeholders behalf.

i own SOF but there is only 4 of us. We have a company and we all pay money into it to cover the cost of paying building insurance and general maintenance fund to fix things. admittedly its only 4 of us so its easy, again it depends on how many people want to buy the freehold.

Go to the meeting and see before you right anything off

Hi maxstream

Many thanks for the informative reply - I will pass onto my son and I guess he will not bother - but it was worth a thought.

Thanks again and good luck

I would expect that the amount is for the freehold of all the flats. The flats will all be on leases that will last for a considerable perios of time so, until the time has passed, the only value of the freehold is the income in the form of ground rent. Unless your son either has experience of debt collection or is willing to not collect the ground rent, he should not take on the freehold on his own, in my view. Buying the freehold will do no more than give your son the right to collect the ground rents until the leases expire. Often such freeholds will be put up for auction and, if this is the case, then £22500 will be no more than a guide price.

The service charge is a different matter although it is sometimes dealt with by the same company that holds the freehold. Normally the leaseholders can decide in rough terms, what the money is to be spent on. If the leaseholders are also shareholders in a management company, they can also appoint and remove the directors who deal with day-to-day matters. Certainly any major expenditure should always be put to a vote of the leaseholders.

You need to determine whether you are jusr residents or leaseholders or shareholders in a company (or all three) before the meeting. Normally it is leaseholders (rather than residents who might be renting the flat from a leaseholder) who pay the ground rent.

My son has received a letter stating that the freehold of the block of flats he lives in is up for sale for 22,500 Pound. There are 30 falts in the block each paying 75 pound pa.

He (All residents) also pays 125 pound every 3 months for service charge.

Complete novice on this so my questions, before a resident meeting and solicitors etc, are

(a) Is that 22,500 for all 30 flats or just his - we think its for all 30 (it's not plain to understand in the Section 5 Notice)

(b) Can my son obtain the freehold by himself (so he will collect the 75 pound off each resident) or do the other residents have to be part of the purchase

(c) What implications owing the freehold have on the service charge ie would my son have to collect this money and arrange for a maintenance agreement with a new company / old company

Any info / help at this stage would be greatly appreciated - resident meeting 30th of October

Thanks in advance - will let you all know how it works out