aalyas Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 i am thinking of putting an offer on a 1 bed flat with a 70 year lease. The vendor is offering to extend the lease at a slight increase in the price, alternatively I buy at the lower price and then they are saying another person in the block of 3 flats wants to buy share of freehold. The general conscensus from ringing solicitors is this a difficult and long process buying such a flat and trying to extend the lease of buy a share of freehold. What to you all think ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wurzel Of Highbridge Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I don't want to be the doomsayer but have you thought through what you are getting yourself into? Checklist It is also a long and difficult business selling a flat. In fact it is much harder because you must first find a willing buyer. Will the property be suitable for you for the next 6 years. Partner? kids? Change jobs? Can you afford te mortgage if interest rates go up? Have you checked out the maintance fees and other hidden costs of owning a flat Have you thiought what you will do if/when the flat loses value and you want to move? Getting a lease extended dosen't cost much to do yourself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flopsy Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 It can be very expensive for a vendor to extend the lease and it can also take a long time for them to do this. Many mortgage companies will not look at an applicatiion for leases under 70 years so you are right on the limit for that. I looked at this before but did not proceed as the vendor was not even getting replies back about extending the lease and it was going to take a long time. There is usually a good reason why the lease has been allowed to get that low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim123 Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 It can be very expensive for a vendor to extend the lease and it can also take a long time for them to do this. Many mortgage companies will not look at an applicatiion for leases under 70 years so you are right on the limit for that. I looked at this before but did not proceed as the vendor was not even getting replies back about extending the lease and it was going to take a long time. There is usually a good reason why the lease has been allowed to get that low. The usual reason is nothing more sinister than apathy. In the boom it was easy to get a normal mortgages on short(ish) leases, so owners didn't know that they had a problem. It's only now money is harder to get that people are finding that they do have a problem. OP - If the owner thinks that he can extend the lease in a timely fashion I should go with that. You may find that the other person who wants to buy the freehold changes their mind when they find out how much it costs. tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aalyas Posted November 5, 2011 Author Share Posted November 5, 2011 Thanks for the replies. I am in the lucky position of being a cash buyer so mortgage isn't a problem. Given how long the solicitors said a lease extension could take (anywhere between 6 weeks and 2 years) I don't think I'll proceed with this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aalyas Posted November 5, 2011 Author Share Posted November 5, 2011 Thanks for the replies. I am in the lucky position of being a cash buyer so mortgage isn't a problem. Given how long the solicitors said a lease extension could take (anywhere between 6 weeks and 2 years) I don't think I'll proceed with this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porca misèria Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Thanks for the replies. I am in the lucky position of being a cash buyer so mortgage isn't a problem. Given how long the solicitors said a lease extension could take (anywhere between 6 weeks and 2 years) I don't think I'll proceed with this one. If you're a cash buyer then you may be in a strong position to drive a hard bargain, then just budget some of the money saved to (pay your solicitor to) go through the legal process. IANAL, and don't know whether that makes sense in practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cozza Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 (edited) i am thinking of putting an offer on a 1 bed flat with a 70 year lease. The vendor is offering to extend the lease at a slight increase in the price, alternatively I buy at the lower price and then they are saying another person in the block of 3 flats wants to buy share of freehold. The general conscensus from ringing solicitors is this a difficult and long process buying such a flat and trying to extend the lease of buy a share of freehold. What to you all think ?? If you are serious, get a lease extension valuation undertaken although this will give you an estimate: www.leaseholdextensionvaluation.com You should then negotiate a good discount on the price based on the figure. BTW, there is a two year ownership requirement, which means if you purchased the flat tomorrow you would have to wait two years to buy a statutory leasehold extension. The get-around is if the vendor starts the statutory process and serves the statutory notice before transferring the right to you when you complete. Find out who the freeholder is, then google it/him/her - SO SO important as if there is a nasty commercial freeholder lurking in the background, your life can be made an absolute misery with very high service charges and constant money requests. They can make lease extension or freehold purchase a very expensive process. You have been warned!! Edited November 7, 2011 by Cozza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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