h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi JB.

Here's some introductory advice from a solicitor. http://www.swarb.co.uk/lawb/ltnLeaseNoGood.html

If I find more, I'll add messages to this thread.

Dear JB,

To get an estimate of what a fair price is, you might browse the "Houses for Sale" pages in free local papers, and look for properties similar to the one you are living in. Looking at prices in estate agents' windows is also worth doing. Remember that the sale price is usually less than the initial asking price. (I paid about 4% less for my house than the asking price).

This process would enable you to estimate a market value for your house.

If you were to offer the owner 10% less than his asking price, would that still leave you in financial difficulty ? (Of course, I don't know that that would be a fair price).

If the country falls into an economic slump, as it might, then both house prices and returns on investment will fall. (But if your money is invested in fixed interest British Government stocks, your income would stay the same). In this case, you will wish that you had waited.

What if you don't buy ? - (I am not a professional.) Some adverse possibilities are: (1) An increase of ground rent, following the owner's appeal to a rent tribunal; (2) non-co-operative behaviour by the owner, such as failure to perform necessary maintenance. I guess case (2) isn't likely to arise if the owner has been reasonable until now (unless he decides to sell to another company). I think you would still have redress via the courts, but that is said to be very tiresome.
Love, AliQuest (MarkL).

Ali or Mark,
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer me. I have only just found your post, and so I apologise for not thanking you sooner.
At the moment I have decided to leave the freehold as it is for a while, and gather information before I make any decision. The amount of money that the freehold people want is so much greater than the amount of ground rent multiplied by the number of years that I am likely to live, that I think I will leave the purchase of the freehold to the next owners of this house.
There is still 60 years left on the lease, so I would have to live until I am 120 before the lease runs out. Assuming that my sons will sell the house, on my death, the purchaser can buy the freehold if they wish, or continue to pay ground rent. At the moment it is £17. per year, and the freehold people have asked for £12,500 for the lease. I don't think it will be of any great advantage to me.
I will read your message more carefully, and will have another think to solve this one.
I love the enigma variations, and I am enjoying your bit of detective work on them. Do you also like the 'Pictures at an Exhibition', and have you worked out who they are supposed to be, or is that a project for another time.
Bye for now.
Juicy

Hello Doc,
Thanks for the info. For some reason I don't know, my browser won't let me dink onto the web page you posted. However, if you read my reply to AliQuest, or Mark, (whatever his name is) you will see that I am holding fire on this at the moment until I find out more information. See you on one of the boards. Hope the C.C. is going OK for you.
Bye for now.
Juicy

Doc's akip right now, but as I was passing I tried that link on four different browsers, they all worked.

Do you have only one browser? There are lots around.

Why do you visit so rarely?

You know we love you, please do come more often.

Hi JR You are a lovely feller.

I now have to do all the blessed duties connected with the house, so I am now putter outer of the rubbish, payer of bills, answerer of letters, doing the garden, cleaning windows, shopping, washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning, as well as doing my various hobbies, AND of course, catching up with the Akira, Pirates, and QQ Renegades messageboards. I think it was all a lot simpler when we all posted on the Beeb.


I will keep in touch. I like my old pals on these boards, but my time somehow seems to run out so quickly each day.

What have you been up to recently?

luv J

Hi, JB. Yes, as long as the rent doesn't increase, you are best off as you are. (From a southern perspective, that looks like a very cheap price for a house, so the risk to your sons is that the price will have increased when they inherit).

Pictures at an Exhibition is a very remarkable work, and it is surprising that it had passed unnoticed until Diaghilev asked Ravel to orchestrate it in 1920. I haven't noticed any quotations from other works in it, but then if it quotes Balakirev or Cui, or even Rimsky-Korsakov, I might well not know the quotation.

Best wishes, AliQuest.

As a matter of interest did she mention the length of the leasehold, that would seem to be the primary point. If at last longer than your prescribed lifetime the it would be sensible to keep it as a leasehold. It's impossible to give an answer without the details..if the leasehold was owned by the Duke of Westminster I would go for the freehold option and tell the Duke to go and jump in the lake.

Sorry for not reading it through. 60 yrs is a longtime unless I finally manage in my quest to find the elixor of life, it would seem a good idea to hang on to the leasehold rather than take the risk.

I mention the Duke of Westminster in previous post because he was anxious to keep hold of his property in order to make profits - even a Billionaire never has enough money!

The courts ordered that he should allow inhabitants to buy their freeholds..thus they made a large amount of money whilst the Duke found his land in Londons Mayfair evaporated.

He had a Nervous breakdown, poor dear..it would bring a tear to a glass eye if one wasn't busy laughing.