Leasehold - 19 years left

Kirkii27

A property is about to come up for £82k a two bedroom bungalow but it only has 19 years left of leasehold. 

Apparently to buy the freehold it is 55k is this a bit steep or normal?

would you extend the lease ? Or just forget about the property all together? 

macman

There is no 'normal': the price goes up as the lease shortens.

If you are needing a mortgage to buy this, forget it: you'll need at least 70 years remaining on the lease.

Are you being quoted £55K to buy the freehold, or extend the lease? Two different things.

Kirkii27

To buy the freehold

SuperHung

How much to extend the leasehold then?

NinjaTune

55k to buy the freehold sounds okay, less so if that's to extend the lease.  Of course it all depends on what the market price would be for the property as freehold or with a very long lease.  What would a comparable freehold/long lese bungalow cost in the area?

eddddy

Who has told you it would cost £55k to buy the freehold?  That sounds suspiciously cheap for a £82k property with a 19 year lease.

Will you be able to purchase the leasehold and freehold at the same time? If not, you'd need to take advice from a solicitor and valuer who specialise in freehold enfranchisement - to make sure that buying the freehold is possible, and how much it is likely to cost, and maybe arrange with the seller that notices are served.

If you intend to buy the leasehold initially, without the freehold, it won't be mortgageable.

ratechaser

So assuming you are a cash buyer, the only question to consider is whether or not £137k is a fair price for a freehold 2 bedroom bungalow in that location...

Kirkii27

The lady of the property messaged me on Facebook as I’m looking to buy a property in the area. 

Maybe it’s 55k to buy the leasehold and she misunderstood what I’ve asked although I did say the free hold and that was the quote she got last year but couldn’t afford it so now wants to sell her property for 82k. 

macman

So you need to clarify exactly what you are being offered. If leasehold extension, how long?

Facebook isn't really the place to do a property transaction...

Kirkii27

I know it isn’t... she was letting me know that she putting her property up for sale.

NinjaTune

Kirkii27 said:

The lady of the property messaged me on Facebook as I’m looking to buy a property in the area. 

Maybe it’s 55k to buy the leasehold and she misunderstood what I’ve asked although I did say the free hold and that was the quote she got last year but couldn’t afford it so now wants to sell her property for 82k. 

If it's for the lease extension and a year has gone by since she got the quote then that price will have gone up.

You won't have the option to extend the lease until you've lived there for 2 years by which time it will have gone up again.  You could ask the owner to start the process before it sells but, presumably, she will need some cash in hand to do that so would she be able to?

I'd forget about this property to be honest.