u/Careful-Image8868

I was very anti-leasehold and this will be my 2nd purchase.

My first flat was a share of freehold. Everyone will tell you at minimum to buy Share of Freehold or Freehold, but in my experience SOF meant nothing… I had a high service charge of over £4k a year (every year it increases) and you can’t pick and choose if you want to pay or not, so it’s a fake sense of control. I struggled so much to sell it.

I’m looking to buy another flat but it’s a leasehold (options are limited in London), it doesn’t have a service charge (only adhoc when needed) and no ground rent. I will need to extend the lease in a few years it’s currently at 90 years so I will extend by 99 or 990 whichever I can afford at the time (I have budgeted £15k for this).

I just don’t know if I’m missing a trick again. I just need some advice I guess if this is a good decision or if it sounds far fetched. The freeholder lives in the building so that could pose some issues if they are controlling.

Anything I should be weary off, or anyone in a similar position?

EDIT: there is building insurance to pay split between each flat.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking into counselling training in North London and wanted to ask if anyone has attended counselling courses with Capital City College, particularly at the Tottenham or Enfield campuses.

I’m considering their CPCAB Level 2 Counselling Skills course (part-time), mainly because I was initially drawn to the more structured CPCAB route. However, I attended one of their online open days recently and found the communication and organisation quite confusing. There were multiple contradictory emails, limited practical information, and they haven’t yet been able to confirm things like fees, timetable/day of study, etc., which is making it difficult to plan around full-time work and life commitments.

I’m trying to work out whether this is just an admin issue that doesn’t reflect the actual teaching quality, or whether it’s indicative of the wider student experience.

If anyone has studied counselling there, qualified through them, or has any honest feedback about the teaching, support, placements, organisation, or overall experience, I’d really appreciate hearing it.

Thank you 🙂