Will it affect my mortgage?

leanne2901

Any advice/help would be appreciated

hazyjo

Don't suppose you'll find out if the vendor lied or had wrong info...

I would expect to pay less on a flat with 72 years vs 79 years. Big difference.

Don't be blinded by love. You could find yourself £20k out of pocket in two years' time.

I would want the vendor to extend the lease as part of the sale. If not, I would want a price reduction. If neither an option, I would have to compare price against similar properties.

If you're a FTB and obviously not in a chain, don't feel rushed. Something will turn up if you lose this.

Jx

Foxy-Stoat_3

Normally 75 years is the minimum lease for lenders, get the vendor to extend the lease or walk, unless you can find £15-20K cash in a few years time when you want to re-mortgage when you fixed term ends.

The vendor will have this issue with most buyers.

I would be complaining to the Estate Agent if it was their balls up.

kleapatra

My house has a lease of around 72 years on it. When I was looking into selling I got a mortgage advisor to check whether this would affect people trying to buy it with a mortgage. No was the answer, most of the lenders had limits of mortgage term plus 25 years. So even if you had a 40 year mortgage you could still buy a lease with 65 years on it.

Foxy-Stoat_3

It may be that some lenders are willing to lend on a flat with only 65 years left but if you were to sell it in 5 years time, the likelihood is that the buyers will insist that the lease is extended. The older the lease the more money it will cost to extend to 99 years.

m0bov

My flat had about 72 years on it and was unmortgageable unless it was extended. Nationwide valued it at £0. That was 2 and bit years ago and I was a FTB. Walk away unless you get a 99 year lease, but make sure you check the new ground rent as this might go up. You will be stuck there otherwise as you will only be able to sell to a cash buyer or stump up huge amounts to renew the lease.

kingstreet

Link to CML Handbook list in other thread on same subject in M&E;-

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4971713

leanne2901

make the home our own.

hazyjo

Have you looked into whether the freeholder would allow you to convert the loft?

For the £40k or so it'd cost you to do the roof and extend the lease, would that money be better spent buying something bigger?

You say 'house' too (just realised). I would look into buying the freehold rather than extending the lease!

Jx

PasturesNew

leanne2901 wrote: »

We have plans for a loft extension as well as extending the lease eventually as we want to make the home our own.

You are unlikely to own the loft. That will belong to somebody else (the freeholder). You can approach the freeholder and ask if they will sell it to you and at what price.

Get your solicitor to check if you own it. With many flats you are buying the walls/ceiling/floor, not any loft/basement or outside walls etc. This is the bit they refer to as the "demised premises", or "the bit you own".

polarization

leanne2901 wrote: »

We realise that extension of the lease will be pricey when we do it - we knew that all along. We have plans for a loft extension as well as extending the lease eventually as we want to make the home our own.

You need to be careful if you plan to extend your loft. First of all, you need to check if you own the loft space in your lease. Most of the lease do not include the loft.

If you are lucky enough to have it in your lease, you need to be aware that you may not be able to change the layout of the original structure, such as install a windows (all need to refer to the lease). You still need permission from the freeholder to make the changes.

If you do not own the loft in your lease, you will need permission from the freeholder. Your application may be refuse by the freeholder even you are willing to pay for the loft as space equvalant to money to freeholder.

If you have a loft, I suppose you are living at the top floor. You have to be careful for the responsibilty of the roof maintance. The roof may be covered by the services charges at the moment. If you change the usage, the maintenance cost may increase and you may ultimately become sole responsible for the roof maintance.

Also, with the increase of floor space, it may increase your services charges id they are paid based on the space you owned by your flat.

You have to take into account the cost of extending the lease and the possible cost from the loft conversion in your budgeting.