When to extend lease?

rainbow_carnage

We're looking to buy a flat with an 87-year lease. We could ask the vendor to serve section 42 notice, so we could extend the lease as soon as we buy the flat, or we could wait two or three years and do it ourselves.

I'm trying to figure out if there's an advantage to doing it sooner rather than later. Either way, we're not going to let it drop below 80 years. I've tried plugging in the numbers into a couple of calculators, it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Am I missing anything? If it costs the same, we would prefer to do it in a few years' time and put the money towards a new kitchen now.

Thanks in advance.

princeofpounds

It won't make a huge difference at this stage, but it will start to make more of a difference around 80 years when marriage value is considered.

Basically it then gets more expensive at an accelerating rate. So waiting from 75 to 70 years for example is less painful than 70 to 65.

The moral of the story is do it before 80 years, and if you can't do it ASAP.

In your case I would probably do it yourself but be disciplined.