RetireJapan

For any British flat owners in the UK, has anybody had experience of extending the leasehold of your flat? It is advised that you extend if you have about 85 years left on it. If this is not the case, it is difficult to sell your flat because banks and building societies are not willing to give mortgages to anything below this.

I am going through this process now and I am finding it an extremely excruciating and time-consuming process with solicitor and surveyor bills mounting up. Basically, the freeholders want an extortionate amount of money for the extension of the leasehold and in order to oppose it we have to go to tribunal, which again further adds to the cost. The flat is co-owned it was an inheritance, although I would like to hold on to it, the other co-owner would like to sell up, so this would involve me buying out his half. However, nothing can advance until the extension of the leasehold is resolved.

Has anyone had a similar experience with flat leaseholds?

I did some checking into this and found the same info <80 years on the lease will impact the value of the property
Mine has about 100 yrs left
I was going to try to extend it and was told to speak to my property management company https://ringley.co.uk/
However the situation has changed as due to a new building nearby there may be a compulsory sale of my apartment and so am waiting for the result on this. Sorry I dont have better info.
You have a solicitor there supporting you on this?

concerned wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 12:16 am I did some checking into this and found the same info <80 years on the lease will impact the value of the property
Mine has about 100 yrs left
I was going to try to extend it and was told to speak to my property management company https://ringley.co.uk/
However the situation has changed as due to a new building nearby there may be a compulsory sale of my apartment and so am waiting for the result on this. Sorry I dont have better info.
You have a solicitor there supporting you on this?

Solicitor and chartered surveyor supporting me, both need to be paid, though. My freeholders make the HMRC look super-efficient with their response times- basically trying to string you out so you will accept their valuation of the extension of the leasehold. In the knowledge you are paying legal, surveying fees and..... the surveying fees for the freeholders- that is the one that gets to me.

Sorry to hear, that is a headache for sure.