flat with a short lease dilemma

[Putthatbookdown]

The lease was granted in 1964 so only about 50 years left on it. Would it be better to sell it now to a cash buyer or wait? We are doing extensive outside work so that will boost the value but the lease is still short Can we get together with the other tenants and buy the lease and if so how much would that cost? Presumably the longer we put off buying the lease the more it will cost?

I'd have a word with the Leasehold Advisory Service - I've found them to be very helpful in the past: www.lease-advice.org
The lease extension calculator might be useful alongside the guides on how to go about extending a lease. Have you contacted your leaseholder to find out about this? Yes, extending will get progressively more expensive the shorter the lease gets, so best to sort it out as soon as possible. Clubbing together with all other tenants to buy the freehold is one option, but can be difficult to negotiate as obviously everyone needs to be in a position to buy.

A very short lease puts off even many cash buyers who can't be arsed with sorting out a lease extension themselves and I'd be wary of assuming extensive work to the flat will increase its value: value is about what somebody wants to pay and whilst most potential buyers would be unable to buy due to inability to get a mortgage this will hold the flat's worth back.

You don't need to get together with other tenants to extend the lease, you can approach the freeholder and do it on your own. As Comtesse says, it will cost money but selling with a short lease - unless you are in the West End of London where it is relatively common - really limits your buyers and, of course, your value.

Freeholders are obliged to extend a lease by 89 years to anyone who has owned a property for two years or more (they don't necessarily have had to have lived there). The freeholder could be difficult but 50 years is a long way off and, most likely, he/she/they will take the money and run. Get the groundwork laid by approaching the freeholder now.

Doing up the flat will make almost no difference as the thing that people will want is a bankable asset and, without at least 80 years on the lease, you haven't got that.

So a new roof, lift etcetc will not help ? i thought it might as it lowers the maintenance charge

To be honest, having a leaky roof, cranky old lift etc will be another reason not to buy the flat but having a new roof, new lift etc won't be a good enough reason to buy an unmortgageable flat. You really need to bite the bullet and fix the lease.

Would disagree with some of the other posters here slightly and say it depends on area.

In (very central) London estate agents don't always advise current owner to sort out lease extension. In places where there are may more freehold properties etc around it would make more of a difference.

Might be worth chatting to a local agent or two where you are to get an idea.

yes, there are a lot of freehold properties as we are outside London.
Anyway would we be able to get the lease extended for say £15,000.
The landlords have been pretty bad and there is already legal action against the previous ones as well so it is a mess. i begged my relatives not to buy the flat but they went ahead. We have lost about £60, 000 which is a lot of money ...