Cross lease property titles
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Topic: Cross lease property titles
Posted By: millymollymandy
Subject: Cross lease property titles
Date Posted: 24 August 2010 at 8:45am
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We are looking at buying a piece of land via private sale. The people selling were wanting to build a spec house and sell it, but decided they were too busy.
Its in an ideal spot for us, near great schools, parks and CBD, has sun, an orchard and sea views. We can afford to buy the property freehold and build on it when we can. the only fishook is that it appears to a cross lease. i understand that this the vendor as the other person owing the other part of the lease a say in the building design and any alterations. Does anyone have any experiance of cross leases? Have they worked out OK or do they just create more hassles? Will talk to lawyers if we decide to go further. |
Replies:
Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 24 August 2010 at 9:24am
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our last place was a cross lease, but it already had houses on the land. it was no problem at all for us. i suppose you would want to make sure that the boundary was clearly defined - i had a landlord once that had troubles with a driveway and it wasnt able to be used. ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker"> 
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Posted By: JessDub
Date Posted: 24 August 2010 at 9:25am
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Our house is a cross lease. When we signed, we signed an ancient faded old agreement which said we had to consult with our neighbour about anything we do to appearance of house, whether we get pets like loud birds etc.
However, our neighbour is cruisy and we get on well. We've only done things to improve the place, certainly no birds or large structures. For us, it's only been a good thing as it means our rates are shared. You should check the cross lease agreement with your lawyer first. I understand they're all different and this one may actually suit you guys. May be a case of not building above a certain height or height of fences or even things you could pre-negotiate before signing. I wouldn't necessarily let it put you off buying though. JM2C. ------------- 
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Posted By: myfullhouse
Date Posted: 24 August 2010 at 9:29am
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Our previous house was on a cross lease and we had no problems. The lease was for 99yrs and was $1 a year each, so cancelled eachother out and there was no required paperwork etc each year, so no hassle
My understanding is that you only require the other party's approval re extensions, building etc to the extent that the council requires any neighbours consent. So this could mean that you don't need any approval from them at all. Maybe have a quick chat to the council. Also do check this with the lawyer as I am not 100% sure ------------- Lindsey 
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Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 24 August 2010 at 9:53am
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When applying for building consent you need your neighbours consents anyways, with cross lease it simply means you have extra neighbours. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 24 August 2010 at 10:04am
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With it being a cross-lease section, the biggest expense is going to be when you build your house, as the title needs to have a "flats plan" done, which shows the plans of the buildings that are located on the cross-lease. ANY changes to the flats plan (so addition of a garage/shed/change to shape of house etc) means that the title needs to be changed. You will need the approval of any other party who has an interest in the cross-lease to approve plans etc as well.
Your best bet is to find a solicitor and get them to go through it all with you. Buying an existing cross-lease property is a lot easier than buying a cross-lease section and building on it. Other than the red tape involved, the only other downfall is resale value - a lot of the time, a cross-lease property will be worth less than a fee simple (a normal everyday property where you are the sole owner of the entire section). |
Posted By: millymollymandy
Date Posted: 24 August 2010 at 10:44am
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Lots to think about...if we think its worth it our lawyer will be getting some more work from us.
I'm an ex council policy analyst and specialised in parks and land related work, and have done heaps of work with leasehold and straight freehold title, but don't know much about cross lease. The plus side is that it is big enough to convert to two freehold titles and my former colleagues said there have been a few done in neighbourhood, so no objections likely from council. Once you have built given the terms and conditions of the RMA its difficult for other neighbors to have grounds of objection. |
Posted By: clover
Date Posted: 24 August 2010 at 10:51am
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My colleague had no end of trouble with their property given the fact they extended their house. As minik8e mentioned, the change to the floor plan led to a change of title which cost them tens of thousands of dollars to sort out.
I personally wouldn't buy one but for many people they aren't a problem at all. They also seem to be a lot more common in some areas than others. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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