Buying a flat with a 74 year lease

ruelle

If I make an offer and include the price of extending in it, would it be a faff to get the seller to do it on completion? I'm a FTB so I'd need to have it extended to get a mortgage. Or are lease extensions generally more hassle than they're worth?

D_M_E

If you are including the cost of lease extension in your offer - for example flat £75,000 and cost of extension £15,000 then offer would be in this case £90,000 - then the seller needs to do the extension, not you.

You also need to check the terms of any negotiated extension very carefully as anything negotiated by the seller could well have very unfavourable terms - and huge ground rent payable - for any future buyer.

ruelle

D_M_E wrote: »

If you are including the cost of lease extension in your offer - for example flat £75,000 and cost of extension £15,000 then offer would be in this case £90,000 - then the seller needs to do the extension, not you.

You also need to check the terms of any negotiated extension very carefully as anything negotiated by the seller could well have very unfavourable terms - and huge ground rent payable - for any future buyer.

Thanks! Actually I've seen a few other ads for flats with 74 year leases for cash buyers only - will it be difficult for me to get a mortgage?

eddddy

ruelle wrote: »

Thanks! Actually I've seen a few other ads for flats with 74 year leases for cash buyers only - will it be difficult for me to get a mortgage?

Most lenders seem to lend on leases with 70 or more years left. See: https://www.cml.org.uk/lenders-handbook/englandandwales/question-list/1846/

FYI - a statutory lease extension typically takes between 6 and 18 months. The fees might be £3k to £4k (plus the cost of the extension)

An informal lease extension can be done quicker and with lower fees. But you must be very careful about the terms of an informal extension.