Comments by "Harry \x22Nic\x22 Nicholas" (@HarryNicNicholas) on "National Leasehold Campaign #LeaseholdScandal #NLC" channel.

our service charge went from 280 PM to 425 after electricity prices went up, they are supposed to decorate every 4 years according to the lease, but they say they don't have the money, also our lift was out of order for five months late last year and i'm desperately trying to sell a first floor flat. i planned on being here three or four years until my son went to uni, then to sell and move, that was ten years ago. gove has already reneged on "leasehold reform" let's hope labour can keep at least this one promise, this is diabolical, i'm supposed to b enjoying my retirement, not hoping i pass on soon cos i'm sick of living in the same place.
9
i bought my flat eleven years ago, the plan was to sell and move on when my son finished school, that came and went, it's hard enough selling a retirement flat, it's harder when the service charge is high, it's harder still when the management company has an awful reputation, but now it's been made even harder thanks to advertising all this wthi the leasehold reform bill - it needs to be fixed, i haven't had a viewing for at least two years and now the reform bill is being messed around i shall probably die before i can move (i'm 70 and would really like to not be living in croydon thanks very much) this has become an open prison for me. i;m not surprised gove back peddled on his promises, and really i;m not surprised taht labour are dicking about - that's why i voted green this time.
7
i don't know how this can be called a human rights issue from their point of view when i have been trapped in a leasehold property for over ten years, i'm here because it was convenient for schools, the idea was to sell when my son when you uni, but i've been trapped here, i've had one viewing in four years, i'm paying a hefty service charge that amounts to over £400,000 between all the flats, but i defy anyone to show me where that money has been spent. our lift was out for seven months last year - MY human rights, the right to MOVE if i want, has been trampled all over, and the reform bill made things worse - now EVERYONE knows to avoid leasehold.
7
i've been trapped against my will where i am living for 11 years, i planned to be here for 3 years until my son went to uni, but the rep of the management company, their tardiness and lethargy when i was in conveyancing, has left me three firm offers down the road and still no sale. also the reform bill would have been god if anyone had bothered to MAKE IT HAPPEN, but now thanks very much, no one will touch leasehold for at least another three years, plus however long it takes for owners to extend, so at 70 years old it seems to me instead of having the world be mo oyster i'm going to die in flippin croydon. it would help is you could stop management companies charging whatever they please, our monthly went from £300 which is bad enough direct to £425 when electricity went up, so our winter fuel went straight to the property company. we need to be able AT LEAST to say "no, i won't pay any more", and also we are expected to cough up (pensioners mind you) the MONTHLY amount IN ADVANCE. labour - i voted green this time and last time cos you're as crap as the tories. do i sound annoyed?
6
can't be arsed watching this, when we get some honest politicians get back to me. i planned on spending three years tops in this retirement flat, until my son went to uni, then i should have been able to move anywhere in the world, if people - solicitors, management companies, estate management companies had done their job i could have had a dream cottage on the isle of wight, a round the world trip and 60k in the bank, but, everyone had to dick about until it all fell through, twice, i've been trapped in an open prison for eleven years - and now EVERYONE knows - DON'T buy leasehold, thanks. get it sorted.
5
the next five weeks, i'm in court next month.
4
management companies basically just make telephone calls. i pay for everything, it's fair enough that management companies cover costs, but they contribute ZERO to the upkeep, we had a lift out of order for six months, with people on the first floor who can only take the stairs one step at a time, - the management company doesn't make ANY allowance for people getting older - odd that eh? - the lease states that the interior should be decorated every four years - it's not been touched since 2013 - "we haven't got any money" is the excuse - i wish i could make that excuse. and when i asked "what happens if all the flats are empty, who pays for the maintenance" i was told relatives of the dead tenants keep paying the service charge.....it's an insane system.
4
the first house my ex-wife and i bought was leasehold, it it was on church land, we had no service charges and the ground rent was as you say, peppercorn, £5 a year i think it was, this is why when i bought my current place as leasehold i had no idea the problems i would run into, just extending a lease took nearly a year to sort and cost £6000, and i have to do it all over again 5 years on, you basically buy a piece of pepper, not bricks and mortar, and the freeholders can't wait for something to wrong then they pounce on you with law and start running up "legal fees".
4
thing is, you don't own the property, you own a piece of paper, and that piece of paper gets bits ripped off it every year until you have to buy it all over again. i paid £5000 to extend my lease by a minimum amount, thinking i had sold my flat, but i also had to pay another £898 to have the rent capped, it too went up from £250 PY to £300. here i am five years later and my lease needs renewing again and it will cost more probably. service charges have sky rocketed thanks to electricity prices, but although i get threatened with court when i have no money to pay, the management company has no money to decorate (contrary to the lease) and selling a first floor flat with a lift that's been out of order for FIVE MONTHS, isn't easy. no one would sign a lease agreement unless they'd been duped or desperate, everyone knows leasehold is not fair to homeowners, and now the tories have backed down on reform like the cowards they are. i've just turned 70 and i'm trapped in an open prison - so much for "enjoying my retirement", i'm just burning money living here.
4
lol, this is what amazed me about gove "championing" the reform bill, how many conservative MP's are leasing houses out? it's no surprise gove u-turned on this bill. never trust a tory.
4
at least it's helped me define what a "king" is, someone who stole land from a farmer.
4
and as always, change the subject. no, we want leasehold reformed -as well as affordable housing. "strong economy" bollocks as well. jeez. broken records.
4
very good news, it's well overdue that leasehold was transmogrified to be on par with freehold, at the moment i own a piece of paper than has bits torn off every year until i have to buy another piece of paper - at £6000 a pop, and i only own the paper not the property - which is no good to anyone except landlords who are despicable enough to evict you when your lease expires. i've been trying for six years to sell, maybe my property might have some value at last - i was valued at £190,000 but i'm already on the market for considerably less, and my next door flat sold for £20,000 less than that asking price even.... leasehold is immoral.
3
you own a piece of paper, and a bit gets torn off year by year until you have to buy the piece of paper all over again.
3
the issue is that leasehold is a mill stone and thanks to the reform bill, which still hasn't happened cos NO politicians keep their word - it'll be another two years or more before i can sell a place that i've been trapped in for eleven years already when i expected to be able to move after three years.
3
the reform bill is a great move in the right direction, but now it's even harder to sell because it's advertised what a minefield buying leasehold is. i've been stuck in this place 7 years longer than i had planned, does anyone know a good civil rights lawyer, i think this has become a human rights issue, i'm a prisoner in an open prison.
3
it must be nice to be able to make jokes about this, personally i've been trapped in my flat for ten years, like an open prison. the answer is that politicians can't be trusted, gove trying to change a law to be fair seemed incredible to me and it appears both parties are just using this to get elected and in the end it will be "too expensive to put into practice". one thing for sure the tories will NEVER get my vote.
3
given the number of people tied to leasehold, can't this come to a class action suit of some kind? it's basically legalised theft and i'm under constant worry of eviction if i miss any bills, i've just been in court and lost "on technicalities" even though the court said it was an unpleasant decision to make. i'm 70 and i have no idea how much of live i have left to "enjoy" but i didn't plan to end it in croydon.
3
well, you don't make much sense yourself. the issue is that leasehold is a mill stone and thanks to the reform bill, which still hasn't happened cos NO politicians keep their word - it'll be another two years or more before i can sell a place that i've been trapped in for eleven years already when i expected to be able to move after three years.
2
leasehold has become worse since the reform bill, what was already putting people off is now seen as untouchable, stuck here for ten years. our charges went from 300 to 425 with no notice when the elecricity went up - it has not gone down, and we are expected to pay a year in advance. crazy.
2
i guess it's the lesser of two evils getting labour in, if only there was a trustworthy politician to be found.
2
i've voted green twice now after 50 years labour, at least they have morals.
2
@UK-real-estate call it whatever you want i'm still a prisoner in an open prison and the reform bill has just advertised "DO NOT BUY LEASEHOLD" so i really couldn't give a rat's bum what you think do or say, you're about as helpful and my management company.
1
all management companies do is make phone calls, they contribute nothing to the maintenance of the buildings, residents supply the money for everything. even if you die your relatives are expected to keep paying service charge until sale, which is why i bought my place so cheap, as the saying goes, if it's too good to be true - it's a trap. i just want to live somewhere else, but - i can't even walk away without being chased for service charges.
1
it's not just insurance it's doing lousy repairs and then having to repair the repairs. i'd bet big money there are lots of scams going on between builders and management companys, we have repairs done, then repairs to the repairs, and repairs to those repairs. i've been trapped in leasehold / retirement flats for seven years more than i planned, and although the reform bill will eventually pay off, it's just made it even more difficult to sell. unlike freehold i do not own my home, i own a piece of paper and the service charge can be anything the landlord decides and if i refuse to pay i get kicked out. when electricity went up our service charge went from 300 PM to 425 PM, and i can count on the fingers of one hand how many hours i have my own radiators on - they do nothing to economise cause WE pay for everything, basically all the management company does is charge for making phone calls - we even pay the salary of the house manger, who i think ought to be their employee - and i want to get away from this nightmare but i can't even walk away without winding up in court. when iasked "what happens if the building is empty" i was told relatives of deceased residents still pay the service charge - this has got to stop.
1
i'll be going to court over the terms of my lease soon, so this could prove interesting... i had to extend my lease 5 years ago, expecting to have sold and moved by now, i not only paid £5000 for the extension but another £900 to cap the rent. as i haven't moved i have to do this all over again if i hope to sell.
1
i'm in a first port dev and i can't wait to sell. they've passed on the electricity price increase to me, from 4k per year to 17k per year - i do my best to save electricity in my flat and the communal rads are on 24/7
1
politicians eh.
1
totally agree, you own a piece of paper and an inch of it gets torn off every year until nothing is left and you have to buy your property (there's a joke) all over again, i renewed my lease five years ago thinking i had sold, it fell through (people dying, what a bugger) and now it's run out again, and if that weren't bad enough we've had BOTH political parties SHOUTING "don't touch leasehold" so i voted green twice cos you can't trust anyone. i planedd in moving after three years when my son finished local school - i've been trapped living somewhere i don;'t want to burning £300 a month in service that is third rate for 11 years. it's an open prison, i can't even walk away without the management company chasing me for service charge.
1
didn't you just post a video saying gove had back-peddled? the barry gardiner one?
1
obvious why ground rent wasn't accepted - it's free money, money for doing nothing more than sending out an invoice. freeholders agents will lose billions that they got for basically the pleasure of hassling people.
1
i turned 70 this year, trapped in a retirement flat, i planned on being here 3 years - been here 11 - and thanks to the reform that NEVER HAPPENED, no one is going to buy for at least another three - this is a human rights issue, i'm in an open prison paying a service charge that gets me third rate service from people not interested in service just the charge. i voted green twice now cos both parties are liars.
1
i extended my lease about five years ago, but, now i have to extend it again, it cost me $5k to extend, but another £900 to have the rent capped, even so now electricity prices have gone up my service charge - £280 PM when i bought, is now £425 PM - whatever the morality of buying property for profit, i only intended living where i am for 4 years tops - i've been trapped here for 10 years and as things stand i just can't move. whoever is elected they have to come good on their promises, i;m 70 and have no idea much longer i'm going to be trapped living somewhere that wasn't my choice to begin with, and can't get away from.
1
totally agree with the other commenter, you own a piece of paper and an inch of it gets torn off every year until nothing is left and you have to buy your property (there's a joke) all over again, i renewed my lease five years ago thinking i had sold, it fell through (people dying, what a bugger) and now it's run out again, that's ANOTHER £6000 - and if that weren't bad enough we've had BOTH political parties SHOUTING "don't touch leasehold" so i voted green twice cos you can't trust anyone. i planed in moving after three years when my son finished local school - i've been trapped living somewhere i don;'t want to burning £300 a month in service that is third rate for 11 years. it's an open prison, i can't even walk away without the management company chasing me for service charge. and i;ve been on the market for at least £20,000 below the valuation and not ONE viewing in three years. thanks government.
1
i've voted green twice now after 50 years labour, at least they have morals.
1
selling? much as the reform bill will eventually make a difference what was already hard to sell (retirement flats with service charges and management companies with poor reputations) the bill has advertised the fact that buying leasehold is a minefield - i planned on living in this flat until my son started uni - it was one of two places in my budget near his school, and the only one that i qualified for age wise (i was 59 when i moved in) i've been here eleven years now, not had a viewing in 3 years and i'm on the market for 25,000 below the valuation already, i paid 82,000 for a flat valued at 190,000 that's how hard it is to sell.
1
i've voted green twice now after 50 years labour, at least they have morals.
1
i was surprised gove suggested this in the first place, the tories aren't known for their desire to be fair or their altruism, at least now i don't have to vote tory for once. typical tory action, make a promise to get elected and reneged, good they did this now, at least we can kick this bunch of thieves out.
1
for goodness sake, gove has made it clear that leasehold is unfair and should be scrapped, along with ground rent, now, as always, they will pretend it's perfectly okay. we really need to scrap politicians and get some legit professionals into government.
1
i've been trapped against my will where i am living for 11 years, i planned to be here for 3 years until my son went to uni, but the rep of the management company, their tardiness and lethargy when i was in conveyancing, has left me three firm offers down the road and still no sale. also the reform bill would have been god if anyone had bothered to MAKE IT HAPPEN, but now thanks very much, no one will touch leasehold for at least another three years, plus however long it takes for owners to extend, so at 70 years old it seems to me instead of having the world be mo oyster i'm going to die in flippin croydon. it would help is you could stop management companies charging whatever they please, our monthly went from £300 which is bad enough direct to £425 when electricity went up, so our winter fuel went straight to the property company. we need to be able AT LEAST to say "no, i won't pay any more", and also we are expected to cough up (pensioners mind you) the MONTHLY amount IN ADVANCE. labour - i voted green this time and last time cos you're as crap as the tories. do i sound annoyed?
1