pre purchase lease extension

phatbear

a quick note despite being almost 40 years old I'm ashamed to admit I've lived the last few years of my life as a kinda kept man never having to pay bills etc however due to a break up i find myself in a position of looking for somewhere to buy and therefore i keep coming up with more and more questions however I have finally stumbled across a biggie which i hope someone may be able to help with.

after looking at several flats and having ruled out a few due to sizeable service charges etc i have narrowed my search down to two and yet my favourite has an issue.

the flat has a lease in the mid 70's however the owner "says"they are willing to extend it for £3000, which can be incorporated into the price of the flat which means i can get a mortgage on the amount including the lease.

so my question(s) are.

is this normal practice
will it slow the purchasing process down
do i need to hire individual solicitors for the lease and then conveyancing, and approx how much are the legal fees for lease extensions, the estate agents reckon £1500 to £2000 but they of course could tell me anything to get the sale.
and does the lease get extended prior to me finally signing on the dotted line for the flat

I'm sorry if these are really basic questions but this is really all very new to me and having to deal with this along with a 12year relationship break up is all a bit full on.

thanks in advance

G_M

If the lease needs extending, and th vendors have agreed to extend it, then let them extend it!

THEY have rights to extend (if they've been leaseholders for 3 years +) which you will not have.

Once it is extended, you buy. The extension is nothing to do with your solicitor (except to check diring the conveyancing what the outstanding length of lease is at that time).

phatbear

Thanks for the reply.

If i went ahead what would stop me, or any other purchaser deciding to not go through with the purchase, hence leaving the vendor to extend regardless.

Im also a tad confused as the estate agent said i would need pay my legal fees for the extension approx £1500+

Sorry if seem a tad stoopid but this is all new to me, as previously stated

G_M

phatbear wrote: »

thanks for the reply.

If i went ahead what would stop me, or any other purchaser deciding to not go through with the purchase, hence leaving the vendor to extend regardless.
nothing. But the vendor would be left with a more valuable lease on a property that would be easier to sell.

im also a tad confused as the estate agent said i would need pay my legal fees for the extension approx £1500+
agent works for the vendor, not you.ignore all 'advice'.

sorry if seem a tad stoopid but this is all new to me, as previously stated

:t :t

tim123456789

phatbear wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

If i went ahead what would stop me, or any other purchaser deciding to not go through with the purchase, hence leaving the vendor to extend regardless.

Im also a tad confused as the estate agent said i would need pay my legal fees for the extension approx £1500+

Sorry if seem a tad stoopid but this is all new to me, as previously stated

What the owner may be proposing is that he exercise his right to extend the lease before exchange, leaving you (and your solicitor) to complete the work after completion.

This will end up with you footing the legal fees.

There's nothing inherently wrong with this approach, except that as more of the costs fall on you you have to adjust your offer accordingly.

You need to ask the vendor to clearly explain what it is he is offering here