Buying a apartment

_Simon__2

Hi

So an apartment has come up for sale in the area which I want to live in with my girlfriend.

Originally we where looking for a house. However the type of houses in our budget in this area are old terrace houses.

So anyway I noticed this apartment that has come up. It is with in our budget. It's also in an excellent position regarding train station. Shops and facilities are all easy access. Private parking with garrage. Location wise perfect for what we need. I like the fact it has a garrage which takes away the stress of parking on a busy terraced street. My girlfriend does not drive so been close to facilities and train station is perfect.

So obviously it's leasehold. There is 95 years left on it at the moment. We expect to live in it for 5 to 8 years and sell it. It has room for cosmetic updating.

Will it make any money when I sell it in the future ? Just worried about leasehold

The maintainace fee is 1200 a year. This covers building insurance.
It's been on market for 6 months . it has one big bed room and a small bed room so it would be ok if we had a baby too.
So to me it's perfect for what we need right now.

eddddy

_Simon_ wrote: »

Will it make any money when I sell it in the future ? Just worried about leasehold

As you probably realise, the vast majority of flats (in England/Wales) are leasehold. So it will move in value in line with other flats in the area.

There's no general rule on whether a flat is a better/worse investment than a house. It depends on things like the supply and demand of flats and houses in an area, and the 'quality' of the property, and the 'quality' of the area etc.

You can get a feeling for how Terraced House prices have performed compared to Flat prices for your Local Authority area here: http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/app/ukhpi/browse

(But past performance isn't a guarantee of future performance!!!)

AdrianC

_Simon_ wrote: »

Will it make any money when I sell it in the future ?

Hold on while I polish my crystal ball...

Just worried about leasehold

All flats are leasehold. The "scandal" over leasehold is actually over rapidly-increasing ground-rent on new-build houses.

It's been on market for 6 months

Then the vendor should be ready to negotiate on price.

Slithery

_Simon_ wrote: »

Will it make any money when I sell it in the future?

Hang on a second, I'll just go and grab my crystal ball from the cupboard...

SeekingSomeAdvice

We're in a similar situation - at the moment, we're wary of any lease lower than 90 years, with the knowledge that it causes problems at 80 years. So perhaps make sure you could afford an extension in case in 5-8 years you find this is putting off buyers?

Also, check ground rent clauses - we've just put in an offer on a place where this may be a problem and explains why the property was on the market for a while.

Jox

The lease will need extending when it reaches 80 years.

My flat was worth £220k and had 63 years on the lease and it cost me £18k (including legal fees) to extend the lease.

csgohan4

on market for 6 months means over priced usually