Lease hold / share holder

Kerriejohall

Hi, I live in a lease hold flat and have a 30% share on the part but/part rent scheme which is on a mortgage. Flat was £345k.  I have 87 years left on a lease and have been told by the freeholder that I can extend if I chose to - but I don’t know if it is worth it on the scheme I am on what are the pros/cons and rough costs - I am aware I have to pay for solicitors fees for both parties  - I don’t intend on moving anytime soon as single parent so would just like some advice if anyone been in same suituation  as me. Thank you. 

NameUnavailable

If you do want to sell at some point a lease under 90 years is going to be difficult to sell - many lenders won't lend. If the lease goes below 80 years it gets a LOT more expensive to extend.

Mazza68

I have a shared ownership property that have a lived in for almost 23 years.
I have a mortgage on 50% of the property and pay rent on the other half.
Recently I have been receiving leaflets from housing association (Optivo) about extending my lease in it was under going to be under 85. Foolishly because I haven’t looked at anything I only have 76 years left on my lease.
I’ve not been in a position to staircase my property due some setbacks as much as would love to buy more of my property as I’ve never had any intention to live anywhere else and now I couldn’t afford to buy any more of my property so have just not looked knowing my situation.
What does the leasehold reform mean for me?
I’m in no financial position to be able to extend.
I feel panicked by getting these leaflets from Optivo
Any advise would be appreciated

NameUnavailable

Kerriejohall said:

Hi, I live in a lease hold flat and have a 30% share on the part but/part rent scheme which is on a mortgage. Flat was £345k.  I have 87 years left on a lease and have been told by the freeholder that I can extend if I chose to - but I don’t know if it is worth it on the scheme I am on what are the pros/cons and rough costs - I am aware I have to pay for solicitors fees for both parties  - I don’t intend on moving anytime soon as single parent so would just like some advice if anyone been in same suituation  as me. Thank you. 

Just to be clear you own a share in the lease, not the property. The lease is the bundle of A4 papers you received a copy of when you were buying it.

If the lease falls below 90 years they become more difficult to sell. Below 80 years they're almost impossible to sell unless to investors/cash buyers due to most mortgage companies choosing not to lend on short leases. Also below 80 years it becomes much more expensive to extend.

However, the Govt. are looking at some reforms to make it easier/cheaper to extend a lease, although the detail has yet to be confirmed and made law! and it's not clear how it might be affected if a shared arrangement applies.

So, if you can afford to, think about extending now.

NameUnavailable

Mazza68 said:

I have a shared ownership property that have a lived in for almost 23 years.
I have a mortgage on 50% of the property and pay rent on the other half.
Recently I have been receiving leaflets from housing association (Optivo) about extending my lease in it was under going to be under 85. Foolishly because I haven’t looked at anything I only have 76 years left on my lease.
I’ve not been in a position to staircase my property due some setbacks as much as would love to buy more of my property as I’ve never had any intention to live anywhere else and now I couldn’t afford to buy any more of my property so have just not looked knowing my situation.
What does the leasehold reform mean for me?
I’m in no financial position to be able to extend.
I feel panicked by getting these leaflets from Optivo
Any advise would be appreciated

If you can't afford to extend your lease then it's a moot point but the leasehold reform is meant to make it easier/cheaper to extend, but until laws are passed who knows what it might actually look like.

The issue of your lease length will only be a problem when/if you decide you want to move, but if you say you have no intention of ever doing so then don't worry.