Flat with lease of 91 years... what are the implications of this?

[namechangedbutneedadvice]

As the title says really... I'm interested in a flat, really interested. It's in an ex-council block, and is perfect for my needs and in an excellent location, fantastic transport links, lovely green parks and by the most sought after school in our area.

It's the third time it's been on the market as it's previously been "under offer" twice. I wonder if the problem might be that the lease has 91 years left on it. Am new to this, but what does that actually mean? How much would it cost to renew? And if I show interest what should I say to/ask the estate agent? How would you approach this?

Sorry for all the questions! Would really appreciate some advice. Thank you x

It's relatively short but it doesn't become excessively expensive / problem with getting a mortgage until it gets close to 80yrs so you'll need to get cracking extending the lease. However you can't start the process until you've owned it for 2 yrs so if you go for it, you need to get the owners (as part of the transaction via your solicitor) to start the process and you continue with it. No-one can tell you how much it'll cost on here, it depends on a number of factors which are usually professionally valued.

This is a useful website
here

I've got a flat which went down to 69 years on the lease, and I had to extend it. It went up to 150 years and I paid £10k. Not that that's any indication of what you'd have to pay, but just saying it can be an issue. Try to find out what the freeholder would accept.

One reason it hasn't sold, apart from the lease and if it's in an ex council in a block, could be that there are costly works on the agenda. These would almost certainly come up during searches.

We used to have an ex council flat where 'at some point' all the glazing in the block was going to be replaced with double glazing at a projected cost of £8k per flat - they were big windows, plus two balcony doors. Under the terms of the lease you weren't allowed to change them yourself.
In fact it didn't happen until several years after we'd sold it.

Other than that, a lease becomes a lot more expensive to renew once it reaches 80 years, so if you were planning to stay for more than a few years I would def. look into the cost of renewing. You have the legal right to renew, but IIRC only if you've owned for 2 years.

There is a formula for working out the cost of renewal, based IIRC on the property's value, ground rent, length of lease, etc.

You can find out a lot online.

BTW, it's not just up to the freeholder to decide what they'll accept - there is a formula for assessing these things so a FHolder can't just ask what s/he likes.

In the case of an ex council flat in a block, the council will presumably be the freeholder and they will doubtless have a legal dept. to handle renewals.

Thanks so much to you all for this advice. It's so helpful and yes I wondered whether there would have been works planned in the block. I figure either way that they are probably keen to sell after two sales falling through so hopefully I'll be in a good position if I ever get to the stage of putting in an offer.

Thanks again all

another point is if there are galley veranda/balcony type access with single stairwell to side. If its a cement building rather than bricks & if the flat is more than 4 (?It may be more in London) stories tall - these are difficult to get mortgages for