Feedback for London flat

The freeholder owns the freehold/land and administers the lease. Sometimes this is shared out amongst flats and other times it’s one person/company that owns the whole thing.

What price level would you tell the "friend" to go for?

Bathrooms off kitchens is very common in both conversions and mansion flats in London - they are usually the former scullery and would originally have not had a bathroom. In that flat I’d have stuck with making the scullery a shower room leaving more kitchen space.

Ditto the lack of a hall - high cost of space means maximising every foot into living space. Same rationale applies to “delightful cottages” which also open direct into living space.

Service charges are not insane atm but obviously not a cost you can control.

Price seems a bit high - not totally out of line for the area but it would need to be immaculate for that price.

Three things would put me off

• short lease
• Foxtons
• I would not want all the furniture (better to sell property with a separate offer of furniture as a separate negotiation).

https://property-accelerator.co.uk/landlord-exodus-sparks-surplus-of-homes-for-sale/

Even if it was the home of my dreams, I'd give anything that Foxtons has any involvement in a wide berth. They're known for massively over-pricing property and being shit to deal with.

That being said, this is a very small, awkwardly shaped flat in an annoying area (conservation areas make renovating more difficult than necessary). There's no entrance hallway, the kitchen is awkward, the living room isn't quite big enough to be a nice louge room/diner, particularly for the high price, and the energy rating is low.

It's horribly stark and black. Really unwelcoming as a living area. I'm astonished that you say that she's an artist, because it really utilitarian. The black sofa has to go and some warmth, brightness and softness brought in.

And yes, the kitchen is just weird with the bathroom carved out if it in a way that means there's barely room to stand at the sink. And where on earth do you put things before and after they're washed up?

ETA I just looked again and on zooming in, yes there is a draining board.

But absolutely no to walking from the toilet directly into the kitchen. Especially when paying £800k

Hi OP, as others have said it’s not a great layout. I used to own a flat very near by and have kept an eye on the market. Your friend’s flat is overpriced …. Not unusual for Foxtons I think!

Yes it is for landlords looking to rent out; minimum 4k pcm, and those areas are high demand

Where on earth does she keep her clothes?!

The kitchen is tiny and really not laid out well for someone who might like to cook. And having a bathroom off it is just awful

Can't help feeling that it's actually a one bedroom flat.

It's a brilliant location, but you'd not be able to park anywhere easily/cheaply if you had a car.

No idea how price compares, but it does seem expensive.

Overpriced and under presented. At that price I’d expect a top notch kitchen, decoration and bathroom. Lease too short, as others have said.

Are you using apps like PropertyLog to follow asking prices in the area, if other sellers are dropping prices and you are trying to hold out for a high price it just won"t sell.

It looks so much like the flat in the peep show

I agree with @PancakeCloud too. I’d not look at anything marketed by Foxtons. I’d wait till the contract is up and change agents. In the meantime, the decluttering, decorating and changes could take place.

Poor photos
The lease
The bathroom off the kitchen
Too cluttered and decorated to suit the owner.
The bedrooms are narrow and the flat is small.

It needs a massive declutter and money spending on it to make it appealing. Decorate neutrally and change the kitchen/bathroom if possible.

In the end, it’s the price too. Always the price.

Laughable isn"t it? The scary thing though is that before mortgage debt went up in price people would have been gagging to buy this with debt tokens! The levels to which the UK public have been brainwashed on property is truly astounding.

Lease has only 89 years left and the EPC rating is E. Definitely 2 big issues & would put me off, along with the price.

Flats in London are really not selling at the moment. Lots of spot on observations about the flat are already mentioned but the EPC of E is a shocker, makes it unsuitable to rent out if a proposed rule change comes in.

People are so brutal OP. The flat is in an absolutely amazing central location. Yes it would be better modernized but that can be priced in.

DH and I lived between zone 1-2 in a 2 bed/1 bathroom flat for 18yrs and only recently moved out. Some of the issues she can't change- some she can.

-I likely wouldn't bother even viewing as its listed with Foxtons. Not as bad as purple bricks, but myself and friends had issues with them so would avoid
-The angles in the flat make it tricky to fit regular furniture
-The short lease is an issue and conservation area might mean you have to stay with wooden, sash windows only
-The front door opens straight into the lounge
-Some areas don't allow or restrict resident parking permits so I'd want to know if I could get one and availability of parking
-The decor could be thinned out and tidied up
-The biggest issue is having a toilet INSIDE the kitchen! 😕

"it’s good investment"

It really isn"t.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-16016563/trapped-unsellable-flat-prices-collapsing-city.html

Out of curiosity, how does leasehold work? We don't have leasehold in Scotland. What happens when the lease is up on the land? Do you then have to purchase the land? And who owns the land? The crown?

Dark, very little natural light, tiny bedrooms, cramped kitchen.

Service Charge
£1,850 per annum (2026)

Stamp Duty
£30,000

Council Tax
£2,697.59 per year band E

Christ. At nearly a million Id want more than that.

Nowhere near a buyer"s market, mortgage debt is too expensive now for the silly asking prices, but search "Oversupply of flats for sale in London" and you will see that it certainly isn"t a seller"s market!

It’s tiny, odd kitchen/bathroom arrangement and I assume a communal garden? And lease of only 89 years? Any one of those is a deal breaker for me.

That’s the reason your friend cannot sell @onpills4godsake , short lease

price is not bad at all for that area it’s good investment

The bathroom inside the kitchen is just weird.
Im from the north so completely clueless but it’s just not that nice? Decor is questionable and furniture looks rubbish. She would be well off to get rid of everything imo