Are leasehold properties a no-go?

[SquishTheWhale]

We're house hunting and frustratingly a lot of the houses we like are leasehold. They aren't new builds or even close so its weird so many of them are leasehold.
My husband thinks its an instant no, but I was looking for some insight.
If the property has a very long lease of around 1000 years, and the ground rent is a token amount under £100PA, is it really so much of an evil? What's the implications for things like mortgages?
I definitely wouldn't be interested in a newer build property with large monthly service payments but interested if anyone has any insight into what its like owning a property with a very long lease.

[novocastrian]

If its a 1000 year lease then personally I wouldnt worry as it will outlive generations

if its only say a 60 year lease then I would avoid

We used to live in a lease hold new build , ground rent was iirc £200 a year, we sold it no bother

[SquishTheWhale]

Originally Posted by novocastrian

If its a 1000 year lease then personally I wouldnt worry as it will outlive generations

if its only say a 60 year lease then I would avoid

We used to live in a lease hold new build , ground rent was iirc £200 a year, we sold it no bother

See more...

Thats reassuring thank you. Did it affect the mortgage or legal side in any way?

[Lisa123wm]

Is there any possibility that the leasehold could be purchased on completion?
I know quite a few sellers buy the lease when selling on older houses.
Some of the houses we’ve bought, including the one we live in now, have had the leases bought in recent years.
Personally, we wouldn’t buy a leasehold property, unless it was an apartment.

[BevS97]

We were also in a newish leasehold and sold without issues.

Another option is to ask for the lease to be purchased as part of your sale. Negotiate it into the asking price.

[SquishTheWhale]

I had no idea you could buy the lease- definitely something worth asking! The properties we are looking at are under budget so there's some wiggle room.

[novocastrian]

Originally Posted by SquishTheWhale

Thats reassuring thank you. Did it affect the mortgage or legal side in any way?

See more...

Not that I recall , this was over 25 years ago so things might have changed now

legally no issues iirc, Mrs Novo worked in a lawyers at the time & we got all legal work mates rates/free but cant recall any probs

[C4rla]

We've had a massive legal battle with our leasehold and no end of expense. I really wish we had never bought it as we're kind of trapped there now.

I'm aware the majority are absolutely fine, but given what's happened with us I would not go near one again. As we have learnt, the law seems to be quite different if you are in a leasehold house as opposed to a flat.

There is potentially some leasehold reform coming, so it may well improve the position.

[SquishTheWhale]

Originally Posted by C4rla

We've had a massive legal battle with our leasehold and no end of expense. I really wish we had never bought it as we're kind of trapped there now.

I'm aware the majority are absolutely fine, but given what's happened with us I would not go near one again. As we have learnt, the law seems to be quite different if you are in a leasehold house as opposed to a flat.

There is potentially some leasehold reform coming, so it may well improve the position.

See more...

Thank you- I've heard a large amount of negative press but it usually seems directed against newer build properties with shorter and more expensive leases. Sorry to hear you've had so many issues

[PopAlways]

Originally Posted by SquishTheWhale

We're house hunting and frustratingly a lot of the houses we like are leasehold. They aren't new builds or even close so its weird so many of them are leasehold.
My husband thinks its an instant no, but I was looking for some insight.
If the property has a very long lease of around 1000 years, and the ground rent is a token amount under £100PA, is it really so much of an evil? What's the implications for things like mortgages?
I definitely wouldn't be interested in a newer build property with large monthly service payments but interested if anyone has any insight into what its like owning a property with a very long lease.

See more...

We’re also house hunting and finding the same thing.
A lot of properties that have been done up recently seem to be leasehold. I wonder if it’s a way of making a bit of extra money on them.
We almost bought a leasehold property last time around but negotiated to buy the freehold because of the restrictions about what we could and could not do in the house without asking the landlord’s permission.
The purchase fell through for other reasons.
But I think those restrictions are the main reason I wouldn’t want to buy a leasehold house, even with a long lease and a low service charge.