Richard8655

But this area might be good for retirees (pensioners) looking for the quiet life after an office career in the city in front of a computer screen. I like the property posted by not2old in the previous post. Looks like a good price considering how expensive housing is in the UK.

not2old

right then so after my previous posts giving links to other places in the UK then reading back to the earlier posts it would appear that you are settled on Cornwall?

Land to build, a quaint cottage or an expensive detached ranch property with acreage?

Then comes the specific town or city as well as the budget. Out of interest what is the maximum property price that you have in mind?

Disenchanted

There are parks where you can remain year round. The majority though have the Government imposed rule that the Holiday Home be vacant for one month per year, usually January/February time. It's your home, located usually on farmland with others, this is a way for the farmer to survive by supplementing his income.

I presumed you would be in Texas for the winter so your Holiday Home would be vacant during the time mandated, however, if you think you may stay for winter then there are holiday homes that are year round. They are pre-engineered dwellings, very well insulated and efficient with a guaranteed lifespan of some 30 years or more. Two of my cousins who are sisters own one each, both year round residency, in the same small park located on a farm between Wadebridge and Bodmin and they absolutely love them.

Kitsune

Disenchanted, how nice to hear your cousins are enjoying their holiday homes. I expect I would too if my sister had one in the same park. Connections are so important.

not2old, I'm researching all options.

jerseygirl, I checked into the link given for US and UK taxes and it looks legit. Signed up for the free newsletter. Seems on the up and up!

Kitsune

Thank you for making me laugh! Yes, all that extra space will take some getting used to.

not2old

for that flat in Norfolk, is it not that a 700 sq'ft space is the size of a triple garage or a backyard pool in Texas?

Bigger than a garden shed mind you ....

.

Pulaski

People who live in pre-engineered dwellings trailers always "love them".

Disenchanted

Would this be based on your personal experience then, or what your neighbors tell you?

Pulaski

NC has one of the highest percentages of state residents living in trailers, about 20% IIRC. A colleague had a "very nice" and fairly new "double wide" (two trailers bolted together after delivery). ...... The two halves were pulling apart at the top, with a crack down the inside of the gable end wall. ...... OK, he was someone who didn't love his trailer.

not2old

did some checking to see what's available in Norfolk for over 55's. I came up with a choice of three in the £65k - £70k range

Are any of these suitable?

1 bedroom terraced bungalow for sale in Northwell Place, Northwell Pool Road, Swaffham, PE37

1 bedroom apartment for sale in Riverside Way, Brandon, IP27

2 bedroom park home for sale in Manor Road, Hunstanton, PE36, PE36

holly_1948

Many of we, over 55 years of age, would not consider any property which is anything other than freehold. Which none of the above seem to be (though it can be hard to tell, sellers are commonly unwilling to be upfront about this). If it's not freehold it's more akin to renting than owning.
A tiny 200 years-old shepherder's cottage would do, even though built in the middle of nowhere and originally without built without electricity, just as long as the land is bought outright.

robin1234

Certainly I see the attraction of freehold. But I think leasehold is fine in some circumstances. And a convenient "lock up and leave" situation, like the flat we recently bought, where you pay a modest annual fee for common services, is almost certainly going to be leasehold.

Our leasehold is 120 years from 2014, so I feel that when we either die or decide to move somewhere else, the remainder of the leasehold will be still long enough to have not appreciably lost value.

not2old

thats the other thing that has become commonplace in the UK over the past 50 years, flats/apartments or house conversions to flats/apartments which appear almost similar to condos in the States or Canada.

The owner actually has service, management fees & ground rent.

Robin to get some sense of those costs - for the unit that you have, what do you pay in ground rent, as well as any service charges or management/condo fee [whatever the name is in the UK] that you pay annually over & above the council tax?

Pistolpete2

Going into buying leasehold properties there are a number of things that one needs to consider. Ideally, the ground rent should be low and a near nominal figure at fifty pounds or less. Anything in the hundreds or more is a no-no as it suggests (certainly to the onlooker or prospective purchaser) that the landlord is going to use it as a significant source of income and ratchet it up.

The service charges should include a charge for a sinking fund to cover future repairs to common areas (major works) - ideally the estate should have a good track record of placing adequate amounts into the sinking fund to actually meet the levels of expenditure rather than having to bolster the fund by zapping lessees after the event as there were insufficient funds in the kitty to cover the scheduled major works. Service charges that go up and down like a yo-yo due to inadequate reserving for major works are a huge turn-off to prospective purchasers and lessees.

If the overall property has a lift this can significantly increase the service charges often while certain individuals will derive no benefit from having the lift. In the same way, lower ground floor flats derive no benefit from the maintenance of common areas such as the common access to the main entrance hallway and all common stairs.

Buildings insurance is in the service charge, typically only covering the fabric to the exterior.

Lastly there is management (incl accounting and audit) and this should all be kept to a bare minimum. Typically the managers also charge a mark-up on their administration of major works. Managers need to have solid experience over the granting of contracts based upon submission of tenders.

It's all very subjective though, as so much depends upon the size of an estate and what is actually IN the service charge rather than the amount. There are also good hands-on pro-active managers offering value and there are lousy ones.

I've recently seen apartments in buildings with lifts having service charges (incl sinking fund) of around 1,500 quid or more, whether two or three bedroomed. Without a lift it could be 1,200 quid for a two bed.

Even if one does the management oneself (meaning as part of a group that has exercised right-to-manage and having also bought a share of the freehold) there is precious little chance of getting things much below 1,000 quid a year as the person who actually does the management is still likely to ask for D&O cover, particularly where a minority does not participate in the right-to-manage and could second-guess the majority in the running of the property.

All of this said, I agree that it is nice to have turn-key properties, particularly in gated communities, where somebody else is taking care of most maintenance needs and such properties normally come as leasehold.

Unless the ground rent is high, there is precious little value difference between a leasehold and freehold property where the lease is more than 90 years. Cost-wise, it could typically be 500 quid or so per annum due to those management fees, assuming you get keen pricing for your homeowner's insurance. Admin-wise, in leaseholds you typically get an interested Board of Directors from the owners (lessees) group 'batting' for you with a vested interest in seeing things are properly taken care of for the estate and this is very comforting, to say the least.

In passing, I recently took a look at a leasehold properly in a development which had an obligation to provide an element of social housing as required by the local council, presumably when original planning permission was granted. The common areas looked like absolute hell and there would be nothing that one could do about it as the interests of the social housing needs group as 'protected' by the council would be conflicted with those of other owners. Looking at values/sale prices achieved of properties in that development today, they were all significantly down from the prices (per Land Registry) as a new-build. It's part of an issue to be considered.

robin1234

The ground rent is 110 pounds a year.

The service charge is 650 pounds a year. It includes maintenance, cleaning, landscaping etc. of common areas. There is no lift. They clean and vacuum the stairs and hallways every two weeks, and they mow, weed, trim etc. the lawns flower beds etc. Considering that it includes heating the hallways, changing light bulbs on the stairs, etc. etc. I don't really see how 6,500 a year covers it. (There are ten flats.) so far they've been really thorough. A few of the residents are continually fussing around, putting more and more potted plants, whirly clothes lines etc. in the lawn. This is all strictly forbidden in the leasehold small print. But the various old ladies sweet talk the lawn mowing guy, and he agrees to it, so it's all fine ..... I keep out of it, don't want to be in contravention of the agreement.

I have one big problem though - neighbours stole my parking space. I own the parking space, it is part of my leasehold. I don't have a car so it doesn't inconvenience me, but I must assert my property rights in the long term. The problem is, the parking area is gravel and spaces are not actually marked out. The folks who are squatting in my space are both aged, infirm & irascible and I don't want to be the one causing them to die of an apoplectic fit or whatever ....

The managing agents have come over on site visits to look at this and other issues, and it remains to be seen if this can be resolved or if I have to sue the offenders.

Part of the problem is, little or no sense of community among residents. I think we have six owner occupiers, and four tenants. That is one of the barriers stopping us creating a residents association or whatever...