Feedback for London flat

A. It looks like student digs.
B. It has a short term left on the lease. Tell her to apply to extend the lease under the statutory provisions (Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, I think) and do it quickly. The premium you have to pay to the landlord goes up the shorter the lease gets, and significantly so below the 80 year point. Its effectively a depreciating asset at this point and no one will take a punt unless its a huge bargain.

That's reasonable advice if selling to an investor. But not for a private sale. For the latter, at the very least it needs a declutter and to look warmer and more welcoming. And that can be done reasonably cheaply.

What are similar things in the area actually selling for?

Most recent sale: 10-14 Macklin St, £13.3 million, Oct 2025.

It’s overpriced- in my experience that particular estate agent always puts a high price on. It’s tiny and even though it’s a good location you can get much cheaper but similar style flats in Bloomsbury for £200k less. Drop the price and try a different agent

To me it doesn't look too bad for the price, but I think post covid and a lot of working from home it may be too expensive now. What are similar things in the area actually selling for?

Do not list it at 600k.
Do not market it as a 1 bed.
Do not repaint - the buyer will completely renovate.
Do not stage it, as per previous point.

Only plus is the location @onpills4godsake

If she bought in the 90's, (presumably as a 1 bed) she likely paid under 300k

It's only 44sq m, ergo tiny.

It looks rather scruffy, messy and unloved to be pricing it at 50k over ¾ of a million!! even for London prices.

Gorgeous flat , wonderful location, but it's really a one bed, with kitchen and bathroom squashed into one small room to create a second bedroom . I would price it as a one bed and drop the price to allow for changing it back .

It’s overpriced given the short lease and the current state of the flat market in central London.

Suggest she finds out how much the freeholder will charge her for a lease extension and if it’s reasonable, kick the extension process off. That will open her up to more buyers as lots of buyers (and mortgage providers) won’t consider leases under 100 years these days.

The lease of 89 years is by far the biggest blocker for selling.

However, the layout looks like really it’s a 1 bed flat rather than 2 bed. The bathroom effectively in the kitchen is going to put a lot of people off. If someone was going to spend a lot of money and willing to do work, it could be made into an absolutely stunning high end 1 bed. But only if the lease issue is fixed first. No-one is going to spend big money plus £800k on a cramped flat with a 89 year lease despite the great location.

Biggest (fixable) issues - price and Foxtons

If your friend doesn’t want to spend any money to sell then:

• relist for £600k (it may be Covent Garden but in its current condition its nowhere close to being an £800k property)
• switch to any agent but Foxtons
• remove offer of selling furnished - it’s not an offer and adds costs to the buyer to empty
• market as a 1 bed with study

If they’re prepared to spend some money;

• clear out clutter and move belongings they want to keep into storage
• repaint and change flooring to neutral tones (but not grey!)
• stage dress it - hire a company to show future buyers how it could look
• extend the lease

The leaseholder never owns the land (unless they buy the freehold). The freeholder owns the land and the building, so they are responsible for insuring the building (not contents), maintaing common areas and the structure itself (ie. roof, outer walls etc). Unfortunately, many never do. If they do a truly abysmal job and/or charge fees that are totally unreasonable, the leaseholders can band together to buy the freehold or challenge the fees.

Leaseholders are resposible for complying with the terms of the lease, usually things about noise, whether you can rent the flat out, what you are resposible for maintaining, access to shared areas (like pipework) for repairs, what you can renovate and whether you need the freeholder's permission. It's basically a really long-term rental.

Banks take into consideration the length of the lease when they consider mortgage offers, as they want to know they can recoup their investment if you fail to pay the mortgage.

When the lease if getting low or when it is up, the leaseholder must leave. Usually, you would renegotiate a new lease, which means you pay the freeholder a lump sum to extend the leasehold period (it cost me £20k about 15 years ago).

What an amazing location..

Declutter and get rid of everything. Neutral colours.

No idea on price but simplicity works

Good for you, why are so many landlords allegedly trying to sell up in that case?

I'd love to live round there! I just wouldn't want the service charges and ground rent etc. It's a lovely flat though.

From the size of the square footage, it's the size of a 1 bed flat and 2 bedrooms have been squeezed in not very successfully (bathrooms off kitchens are a big no no). From my experience buyers in central London are very conscious of square footage and will be thinking this is not a proper 2 bed flat.

There are only 4 rooms and those rooms should be bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom. The smaller bedroom should be turned into a kitchen/diner or luxury bathroom and the then she can have a good sized kitchen and bathroom. The bigger bedroom has to be presented properly with space to get out of bed both sides. If done well, that will make the flat feel much more luxurious which will go down well with buyers in that market/price bracket.

Having said that, it will cost a lot to make those changes so she may be better off just reducing the price sufficiently that a buyer is prepared to go through all the hassle of doing it themselves.

Love it! I wish I could afford it 😞

The location and the communal garden are great though!

This is correct.

First of all flat values have fallen 30% since 2022. So she won’t get now what she would then, but as she bought some time ago she should still do well.

Secondly, relatively short lease, if she has the funds it’s worth thinking about paying to extend. Alternatively the buyer can do so.

Excellent location, flat needs work so she needs to factor that in. Buyer will revamp - possibly turn it into a one bed with an en suite bathroom and a larger living room.

She doesn’t need to do anything to it she just needs a price make sense for the current market and the amount of work.

I’d ditch Foxtons as they’re known to be cowboys - try Winkworth/ Savills/ Hampton/ Knight Frank.

Looking at a recent sale on that road it sold for around £1500 per sq ft whereas hers is £1670 per sq ft. By that rough guide it should sell for around 720k.

I agree that the photos are dreadful. I went straight to the floorplan after seeing one of them, and was shocked to find that it was actually rectangular. Because it looked really oddly shaped in the photo.

I would have expected Foxtons to have given staging advice beforehand and provided an excellent photographer, given their fees. My local small estate agent completely outshines Foxtons in its photography.

Been a LL for years not far from these areas and my rental income hasn’t decreased …

You'd struggle to get a decent mortgage with such short lease and it would be near enough impossible to sell on in a few years. Your friend really needs to extend the lease before doing any other modifications.

It is also absolutely tiny for a 2 bedroom, it's small even for a 1 bedroom but would be slightly more comfortable. I would get rid of bedroom 1 and make a proper bathroom and a proper kitchen, but at least separated from each other. Nobody wants to cook by the toilet. Nice 1 bedroom apartments in that area and with that square footage can easily go for more than 800K.

Great location, I know exactly where this is.

But, the agent is Foxtons. That's enough for me to not proceed.
Other than that, dreadful pictures. Picture 3 is taken with a wide angle lense which has distorted the image and makes me really question how small the room it. The flat is so cluttered, even the hallway by the front door. Your friend needs to majorly declutter and paint the rooms, then get new pictures.

Am not so bothered by the location of the bathroom but the lack of hallway is a dealbreaker.

Tbh, I think it's overpriced by 10-15% (something Foxtons always do). For the same money, I could buy in elsewhere in zone 1 and have more space.

Odds of anyone living in that area owning a car are minuscule.

And yes, since COVID the market for London flats has tanked. People are WFH instead of having to move to, or have a pied a terre in, London.
My friend bought a London flat in 2021, and is now worried sick about ever selling it.