This is so interesting to read - I had no idea people were genuinely ignorant to it? I guess it’s not that surprising when most people struggle with personal finance as it’s never taught or discussed, and most of us are taken for a ride by banks chucking overdrafts etc at us as the clock strikes midnight on our 18th birthday...
I just can’t believe they’ve managed to swindle people into having all the pitfalls of home ownership with literally none of the benefits - it’s outrageous. I can’t imagine any one ever does staircase either because the properties I’ve seen require SO much work to them you wouldn’t have a spare penny left to buy more equity.
It’s sad cos most the people who “own” them would be eligible for council housing anyway so could have a comparatively secure letting agreement with people to do repairs etc for them.
What happens to these properties when an “owner” dies in them out of interest? They always have quite short leases of like 90 years, so say mum dies owning £70k of a £140k property with 40 years left on the lease, does kid own the remaining 40 years on it? Could kid them sell that, but surely it wouldn’t sell for £70k it’d be pennies to the pound like those odd flats you see every now and then or those retirement deals where a house is 1/3rd of market value cos you’re leasing it for 20/30 years?
I think most people who do not read and understand the agreements they sign up for have a few reasons. Firstly, some people are not that educated or possess the ability to understand unfortunately to be able to read and understand the leases etc. Secondly, leases for example are not the easiest read and it requires alot of training and special expertise to be able to read and understand a lease but obviously there are certain clauses that anyone can read and understand for example, tenant should pay rent to the landlord yearly. Thirdly, it is unfortunately alarming how many people simply don't care enough to learn. They may be young and too excited to have bought their first house and don't bother reading the obligations and responsibilities that may come with it.
Mortgage lenders prefer a lease to be at least 75- 90 years term and anything less may not be considered a 'good lease' so it is recommended that when your lease reaches the stage where you have less than 90 years left on it then you should extend your lease.
If you have 40 years left on the lease then you would have to extend the lease. In order to extend your lease you have to pay a premium which is like a deposit/money to the landlord to extend the lease for 99/999 years. Now lots of people in this situation may not be able to afford the premium and they may also not be able to afford the charges and bills the house comes with.
This is one of my pet peeves when grandpa's or parents leave their hard-earned assets like houses to children who don't earn enough. For example a grandmother who has worked hard all her life to be able to buy this house and didn't enjoy her money which she could have if she sold the house. Anyway so the grandmother leaves the house to her grandson as a gift and grandson doesn't have a job or doesn't earn enough, the grandson may not be able to pay the house bills and rent which would make him go in debt. If he owes the landlord debt for charges payable under the lease, then the landlord can take very serious actions against the grandson including possession of the house. It happens all the time and it's so heartbreak to see! Wish grandparents would enjoy their assets and money they work so hard for rather than leaving it for grandchild who can't afford those houses! Such a shame!
agree with all of this!
Also on remote working, I think that’s a distant dream for a LOT of companies as they simply lack the infrastructure or the ability to tbh? Experienced hires 100% but midweight and under needs the support, which in turn means their managers need to be about as a point of contact?
Most big companies have had some degree of remote working (as desk space is a constraint) anyway but expect you in the office 3 days a week so there will always be demand on London / commuter belt housing. If jobs were to go fully remote it’d be to Eastern Europe or India where it’s a third of the cost, not a 10-15% discount to a bloke in Hull.
I know more companies are encouraging remote working now but there are still thousands of companies who don't encourage remote working especially in the legal sector. For example I know so many places who wouldn't even allow remote working for Corona if the government didn't rally for it as much. If given the chance then my employer wouldn't allow remote working either. Our company is a national law firm and we have a zero remote working policy except few senior managers and the rest of us have only been allowed it because of Corona and lockdown.