would you buy a flat with 120 years lease left

rammster

Hi there
I am about to buy a 3 year old flat (brand new construction ) which has 122 years lease left . Should I buy it. Will it be difficult to sell it on say in the next 5 years . I had a word with an estate agent and he said that most of the flats in my area had 125 years lease to begin with at the first place when they were bought brand new. But as a FTB I don't have a clue as some flats I have seen in a different area have 999 years on them . The estate agent confirmed that the lease could be extended.

any help would be much appreciated.

Doozergirl

It's fine to buy a flat with 120 years and no, it won't affect value in 5 years time. 125 years is perfectly normal for a leasehold flat. 999 year leases might be more associated with flats where they had bought share of freehold and extended the lease.

After 2 years you can legally extend the lease by 90 years, but there is absolutely no need in your case. You have a good length of lease.

Around 80 years is where cracks start to appear as the cost of extending the lease increases.

seven-day-weekend

We sold a flat in 2005 with less than 70 years left on the lease and it sold the same day it went on the marekt.

120 years is fine.