What's wrong with this flat?

[NotMinted1]

Name changed in case I end up buying it.

What's wrong with it that it is so cheap.

It isn't the lease length?!

www.barnardmarcus.co.uk/houses-for-sale/property-details/SUR106331

The lack of photos makes me think that bedroom 2 is tiny.
The price reflects the quality of the finish which looks poor. It think it's had a quick coat of paint and cheap carpet refurb.
A LOT of stairs to climb. It's 8 steps up to just the house front door.

But yes, it's bloody cheap for Outer London

Might not be length of lease... might have onerous terms such as a high ground rent that doubles every 10 years

It seems to be right next to the railway station and a big roundabout. Looks like the double fronted house is isolated in among non residential property too. So I reckon it's the naff location that is holding the price down.

Trouble is I can afford that comfortably.

I wanted to live near Surbiton. But what in earth is wrong with it?!

I don't want to buy something I can't sell later though.

Yes and still no one is buying it at that price with no chain.

Maybe better stay clear.

Go and view it, ask lots of questions. Don't dismiss just on the listing.
Go for a drive to check the location, have a read of the local papers to get a feel of what the area is like.
As the saying goes "never judge a book by its cover"

The lease will need extending before it drops below 80 years. It is a faff and can be quite expensive, depending on what you're able to negotiate. Also pp said, might be ground rent too.

It’s on a really busy road, as previously said it’s a mix of residential and commercial along there. Go and look. Personally I think it’s probably the car wash right behind, loads of people coming and going.

Less than 89 years left on the lease

It's quite a busy road as I recall from when DH lived in the area before we were married, and as others have said, quite a lot of steps to get up, especially if you have or may in the future have babies/toddlers in tow

It's worth a look - if you don't mind the road and stairs it may be worth it, it looks like it has potential.

The location
It looks like limited head room
A small 2nd bedroom
No garden access

I know exactly where this is and it's right opposite a secondary school so traffic will be a pain. It's also directly opposite a bus stop where a bazillion school boys wait for and get off the bus. Despite that, it's 10 minutes on the dual carriageway way into south London.

Flats in that area are usually £300k

I'll pass then. It sounds like a myriad of issues

It's on Hook Road. Really busy, polluted main road with no charm. Though it shows a garden, it doesn't say whether you have access to it.
Could be a hard one to sell on because of location.

Sloping ceilings - the square feet are measured on the floor but a lot of the space is unusable because you can’t stand in the space or put furniture above a certain height there.

There's a floor plan. Bedroom 2's a decent size.

The house is here. It's in a parade of shops but not far from a residential part of the road. It's very close to the Kingston Bypass so between that and the shops it might be noisy, but as a top floor flat you'll be above some of the street noise. It might be cold in winter and sweltering in summer, depending on how well it's insulated, but as a plus you won't have noise from any upstairs neighbours (well, unless the pigeons throw really wild parties).

The front of the drawer under the cooker's coming off. It's been on the market since mid-November and was reduced last week so it looks like the owner's keen to sell. There's no onward chain so a quick move might be possible.

How fast are houses round there selling at the moment? How quickly are you thinking of selling? It's got 85 years left on the lease and IDK at what stage people start thinking leases are too short.

Worth a look, if your legs can deal with the stairs.

From the plans it looks like the bathroom and second bedroom are internal with no windows. That would be okay for a bathroom I guess but not a bedroom!

By 'top floor' I think they mean 'loft' so that may have something to do with it. Perhaps it feels very cramped with the sloping ceilings, and there's not a lot of space for furniture.

It’s basically just the loft conversion So will be tiny, - so I wonder how you access it? Probably doesn’t have its own access and you have to enter through the main house.

The road is pretty busy at the front, but behind it I think are playing fields so it might not be too bad at night?

If you are looking in that area, You will get much more for your money around Chessington or Tolworth (to me that property is more Tolworth than surbiton) or go slightly further out into Ewell. But I doubt you will find anything else around that price

So the obvious issue: main road, shops, school kids, miles from a train station, way too many stairs, roof insulation that can’t be trusted and repairs can be a nightmare (expensive + all leaseholders need to for out). The lease is only 85 yrs so while mortgageable, you’d need to renew quite soon. It also looks very far away from the river or any green space.
So generally looks like an awful place to live but then it’s on for 220k which is a fair price IMO.

I also wonder about the leasehold, service charges etc could they could be putting people off? Maybe the communal areas eg staircases are in bad condition?
Would you be responsible for any roof line repairs or the freeholder? Dodgy/loud neighbours?
I think it’s more likely to be something along those lines putting people off.

Heathrow flight path?

Thanks all.

That's a hell nope

Kahlua4me the bathroom and second bedroom both have roof lights. They're at the front of the house. The reception and squarer bedroom are in a dormer extension at the back of the house. It looks like it spans both sides of the semi.

It’s the lease making it difficult to mortgage which means it’s limited to cash buyers only - 99 years from 2006 means it only has 85 years remaining and most lenders won’t lend on anything with less than 85 years. That the vendor hasn’t extended it, and that the advert makes no mention of the last landlord being amenable to extension, suggests it’s going to be difficult and expensive.
The other factors like busy road, commercial neighbours and low ceilings/loft conversion won’t be helping it, but the lease is the biggie.