Leasehold House Good / Bad Points

JuniorMoneySaver

Hi,

This is the first post so sorry for making it a request...

Me and my partner are just in the process of buying a leasehold property @ approx £127,000.

We have been informed of the ground rent @ £67 a year with 76 years remaining on the lease and no maintenance charges applicable.

However as we are making this our first time purchase, if we wished to stay in the property we are concerned that purchasing the freehold could be costly.

Maybe someone in the profession or anyone that has recently purchased their freehold explain the process and possible costs involved.

If the freehold proves too costly after occupying the property for the first two years (qualify to buy freehold) would there be a problem selling the property with 73-74yrs remaining on the lease.

Your info would be appreciated.

Thanks

Ian_W

Working out the cost of a leasehold extension or purchase of the freehold is very complicated. See
https://www.lease-advice.org/housframe.htm
Lease is a government funded but independent body that advises on leasehold problems. You might want to give them a call as they can probably give you a ballpark figure fairly quickly - the number is 020 7374 5380. Though in the first instance it's down to negotiation with the freeholder.

The length of the leasehold becoming problematic with a mortgage, thus affecting the value, varies from lender to lender but most, I think, like to see the mortgage term + 30yrs. So you're not in imminent danger there for a while, however your purchaser will probably be wondering the same things - so it may make it more difficult to sell as time goes on.