Would you make an offer on this flat?

[Shadow12345]

Hi Mumsnetters- Like to see your opinion on this!!

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/67980255/?search_identifier=d6e8ef820e076b978224d30b29df32b8715dffd2a4d44978cf40a6ee2f4ff176

Everything seems ok, except 90 yr leasehold and being so close to trainlines. Thinking of making an offer at list price, or £580k. Seems a decent bargain. Am I overlooking something?

Short lease and high crime -

crystalroof.co.uk/report/postcode/N79UN/crime

Canary Wharf is the easiest place to get to from SE London - Greenwich and Lewisham on the DLR (or the river taxi from Greenwich!)

Are you familiar with the Caledonian Road area of Islington?

Islington is both a place and a borough. The place is very nice. The borough is extremely mixed - includes Holloway, Archway, bits of Finsbury Park… When you read about living in Islington they are talking about very specific postcodes within the borough.

There is significant deprivation in the borough and the Caledonian Road is not considered a desirable place to live. It does not compare favourably to the other areas you have mentioned.

You could live pretty much next Canary Wharf with this one!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/146635634

If you work at Canary Wharf, then you would have excellent Overground connections for areas such as Honor Oak, Brockley, Forest Hill, or Sydenham, and you would get way way more for your money, in much leafier areas.

I must be missing something with this lease thing. We haven't moved since the 1980's and we bought freehold but back then, as far as I can recall, the standard term of a lease for a new-build leasehold property was 99 years.

Having 90 years left doesn't seem a particularly big deal to me.

I wouldn’t live there in my mid thirties with a big job - mid twenties, yes.

have you thought about Peckham? Zone 2, quite buzzy, well connected for the city.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/152132264

Thank you! I think the below type of options are ruled out for me as well, as even though it is a really nice area, I would outgrow these ultra small flats quickly, given stage of life I'm in.

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/68206108/?search_identifier=89363f5ed12712439e702ad9caf32d659767db6f2e99a0824d9651bde3c943e8

Things have changed since. You can now get 999 years lease. It costs a lot to extend leases and mortgage companies are reluctant to lend on a lease nearing 80 years.

I get the whole south of the river thing, but I feel it's a nicer place to live and your budget would get you a much nicer place.
Why are you so wedded to North?
(My family are the same!)

Thank you very much! I didnt consider the night club before, as i have visited the area only during the day..😫

people suggest me not to move to the suburbs yet

Well it is your life! Where do you want to live? What is your lifestyle? Are you out at theatres in London all the time? Sporty? Like gardening? What s your priority? Buzzy location smaller property ? Or bigger garden further out? Minimalist or need to spread out?

I am also very confused about all the talk of a short lease. My flat had 89 years left when bought it, and had started at 99. Nobody was worried about - I easily got a mortgage, my solicitor has no concerns, and when it got to 86 years I extended the lease. It's only once it much closer to 80 that I'd worry as you have to own for 2 years before you can extend, and once it's under 80 it gets much more expensive to extend.

In lease terms though 90 years isn't nearing 80. If you buy when it's at 90 and can start the extension process once it's at 88, so it will be extended before it gets anywhere near 80 years. I did buy 10 years ago, so much more recently than the 80s, perhaps things have changed drastically since then?

@1990s

if you were here right now I'd kiss you!!

i (mistakenly, obviously ) had thought that had been dropped. I need a lease extension & was dreading the cost. I'll have a good read if that & see if I think it'll be cheaper if I wait. I'm too tired now, but will read it tomorrow.

Do you have any idea when it might change?

@YeahComeOnThen It was one of the last bills to make it through the last government :)

Labour have committed to it in the Kings Speech and are aiming to go even further.

No details on timings yet, but I think it’s worth holding off any renewals.

https://www.lease-advice.org/news-item/kings-speech-sets-out-plans-for-further-progress-on-leasehold-and-commonhold-reform/

Sorry for thread derail OP.

It means that come 10 years time and you want to sell you will finding it very difficult on leases under 80 years. Building societies and banks don't want to lend on short leases. If you can extend your lease that will cost you thousands.
The Government is supposed to be working on laws to reduce the costs of lease extensions and ubiquitous ground rents. New build flats since 2022 have only a peppercorn ground rent and generally much longer than 99 year leases.

God I love that, almost makes me want to move back to London!

If it makes you feel better I have recently bought similar, in the frozen wastes of the north for a lot less money and with another legal complication - because I loved it, am happy living here, and decided to gamble on sorting it out in a few years.

Tip: talk to the neighbours and be prepared to reduce your offer once your solicitor (NOT cheap conveyancer) has picked over it.

God no. It's absolutely tiny. The outside is horrible. Imo.

Maybe it's because I'm a northerner but 575k for that????

That's absolutely insane.

See my post above. The leasehold reforms have been ratified by parliament.

It’s very much the wrong side of cally road - the side that never gentrifies! Although close it has a completely different feel to Barnsbury on the other side. It’s not a road I’d choose to live on for that price.

I am well aware of the proposals ratified by the last government. There is no date yet specified when these reforms will actually be in place. Let's hope it's sooner rather than later but from what I've learned MPs are in no hurry. There's an active Leasehold Reform group on Facebook.

Yes I know, but there has been a kind of sea change in recent years of the way leasehold properties are viewed, both by lenders and prospective purchasers. That's the point I was making - it never used to be an issue that way.

Living close to a town (Letchworth Garden City) with historically a very high proportion of leasehold properties has possibly skewed my view somewhat.

Do you need a parking space? If you do go check it out at various times of the day and night, often allocated spaces are blocked half the time, its not like you will have your own private drive way. I have previous experience of this in 2 flats i have lived in.

I wouldn't buy it.