Extending a lease on a flat and effect on value

Interesting. I always assumed the lease would only apply to the whole block. I know I'm ok where I am because we have no external leaseholder. We lease it from our management company, which we all have a share in.

Messy stuff leases. Sorry I can't offer any advice but I'll be watching with interest.

Andrew McP

I extended my lease before I sold my flat 18 months ago.

Initially I didn't bother as it had 71 years to run and I owned a share in the freehold company but it all went t*ts up during the final phases of the sale because the buyer suddenly decided it was something he would like.

This sale subsequently fell through (not just for this reason) so I decided to bite the bullet and do it to stop this issue reoccurring.

I only had to pay legal fees so it cost me just £500 and I think it is fair to say it did not affect the value of my place one bit (but then I did already own a share in the freehold) but it made my flat much much more sellable and made the issue go away once and for all.

Now this is going to cost you a lot more money than it cost me but it would also cost the new owner the same amount of money and it is something they will need to do sooner or later as less than 70 years is an issue for some building societies.

As for how much it will increase the value of your flat, in my view a like for like increase is highly unlikely and it would only increase in value at all if you can persuade a buyer that the extra lease length is giving them more value than if they bought a similar flat without the extension.

But it _will_ make it much much more sellable and will remove this issue as an obstacle when you do sell and the shortness of the lease is brought to the attention of the buyer by their solicitor - at which point you will probably find yourself being asked to contribute at least half the cost of the extension before they will complete the sale.

So I guess I am thinking either do it (if you can) and try to get at least half your money back or budget to have to stump up half the cost to prevent the sale falling through at a later date.

Or just hope for the best and do nothing as this might just work too because you never tell with buyers and you can never be sure what it is they are going to fixate on and you might find it is a complete non- issue in the event.

Length of lease, like service charges, is amongst the first things I would check (as many estate agents are vague on these aspects, it is good reason to be suspicous). Unfortunately agents prefer to make you 'fall in love' with the property rather than cut to the chase. It should theoretically be like for like increase as the original valuation should have taken it into account. But it may be an obstacle for buyers because it is poorly understood and complex area: I can see some buyers might insist the vendor extend the lease before a sale goes through.

Take a deep breath (and a couple of aspirin) before reading more:

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