freehold flat problems

[john1956]

i want to sell my flat but because it is a freehold people cannot get a mortgage. the only way i can think of getting around it is to set up a lease and keep the freehold seperate
can this be done?

[bednobs]

what is the problem with getting a freehold mortgage?

[MustafaTickl]

It is very difficult to get a mortgage for a freehold flat but I am told (but do not know from personal experience) that NatWest will accept some (but not all) applications. If you live near Scarborough then the Scarborough Building Society is worth a try I am also told.

Your company idea will not work for a single flat. All of the owners without exception would have to vest the complete freehold of the block of flats in a management company and receive in return a lease and a share of the freehold by way of a share in the management company. It would then make all of the flats easily saleable, but cannot be done for one flat on its own.

[coopergordon]

I must sayI thought getting mortgage on freehold flats was no great problem? I own a freehold flat in block of nine, they seem to sell OK fairly regularly, but probably at least at a 10% discount because they are freehold. We can all show a history of sharing repair costs like painting outside, new roofs etc. so maybe that helps.

I cannot see why you shouldn't set up a lease on just one flat, but it would need to be managed by a "management company" who do repairs etc. If it was a tin pot company with no history I would think that might also hinder getting a mortgage?