Flat renovation - help a complete novice out!

macman

You may not need a mortgage, but most buyers will. If you don't want to spend £25K on extending the lease, what happens a few years down the line when you want to sell it, and buyers are put off because of only having 60 years left on the lease and can't get a mortgage on it?

rlkk

I do want to extend the lease, just wanted advice about whether 25k was reasonable. People on here have been very helpful in determining that it is.

rlkk

Out of sheer curiosity, would buying a (different) flat with a share of the freehold negate some of these issues? How is maintenance generally arranged in a block where each leaseholder owns a share of the freehold? Probably a stupid question, sorry.

eddddy

rlkk wrote: »

Out of sheer curiosity, would buying a (different) flat with a share of the freehold negate some of these issues? How is maintenance generally arranged in a block where each leaseholder owns a share of the freehold? Probably a stupid question, sorry.

The problems that you identify in your original post are that the freeholder is incompetent/disinterested, and a leaseholder is refusing to pay their service charge.


You will have the same problems with a shared freehold, if some/all of the freeholders are incompetent/disinterested, and leaseholders refuse to pay their service charge.


To avoid these problems, you should find a flat with a competent freeholder, and leaseholders who pay their service charge.

rlkk

Thanks eddddy, you’ve been very knowledgeable and helpful.

ModernSlave

I suggest getting at least 2 more quotes as well. Preferably from reputable local companies (that are listed on companies house).
When having our asbestos out we got 8 quotes running from 2.5k to 9k for the exact same work.

Sibz

Have you looked into how much it would cost to make it 3 dimensional?

AnotherJoe

eddddy wrote: »

The problems that you identify in your original post are that the freeholder is incompetent/disinterested, and a leaseholder is refusing to pay their service charge.

You will have the same problems with a shared freehold, if some/all of the freeholders are incompetent/disinterested, and leaseholders refuse to pay their service charge.

To avoid these problems, you should find a flat with a competent freeholder, and leaseholders who pay their service charge.

^^^^
All of the above ! Steer well clear. This is no doubt why no one else has bought it already if its such a bargain.

rlkk

Thanks, everyone. Still no reply from the freeholder, which is ringing (more) alarm bells.

Pretty sure I’m going to follow your advice and forget about it. If I keep saving up, I might be able to afford something with an intact roof in a few years!