Selling a flat with a short lease

Selling a flat with a short lease

Selling a property with a short lease can become very problematic as depending upon the length of the lease many lenders will not lend on the property. This leaves you with a very small pool of purchasers. The lower the lease, the more restrictive this becomes. It is likely that you will have to sell your property for less than its true value because any potential purchaser will have to navigate through the lease extension process, with all the additional costs and time that encompasses.

Our lease extension experts can guide you through with efficiency.

What does short lease mean?

In general, a short lease is not as short as you may think. In lease extension terms any lease that drops below 80 years is classed as a short lease. It is stated that the shorter the lease of a property, the lesser the value.

Can you sell a flat with a short lease?

There is nothing to stop a property with a short lease selling on the open market but, as mentioned above, it is likely to restrict the type and amount of potential purchasers. For this reason, a lot of short-lease properties are sold at auction. When the duration of the leasehold declines below 80 years, the lease extension cost increases significantly. Hence, a lease with a short length can be difficult to sell and you will not get the best price you could if the lease was longer.

Usually, mortgage lenders will not accommodate flats with short leases..

How to check the lease of a property?

To know if your lease is shorter or not, you need to check your property lease. If you do not have a copy of your lease, then your solicitor can download a copy from the land registry website instantly for about £7. If you need any help regarding how to check the lease duration, you can contact our chartered surveyors who can assist you. Once you get to know the detailed information about your lease duration, it will be clear to figure out if your property lease has a short lease issue or not.

How to deal with Short Lease Issues

You can extend the short lease of your property: Leaseholders who have owned their property for 2 years have a statutory right to extend the lease by 90 years. Therefore, your new lease term will be equal to the remaining term on your lease plus 90 years. If you want to extend your short lease, our chartered surveyors will assist you.

If you are purchasing a property with a short lease you can ask the current vendor to serve the statutory notice to extend the lease and transfer the right to continue the lease extension process to you upon completion of the sale. This was you do not have to wait 2 years after purchasing the property to extend your lease.

Buying your freehold: Once you buy the freehold of your leasehold house, your property will convert to freehold. Then you can sell your freehold property, which will command a higher price and the buyers can get a mortgage on it. 

Sell your apartment or resident to a cash buyer: If you have a short lease on your property you can sell your property to a cash buyer as they will not need a mortgage.

By selling to a cash buyer, there will be several benefits, you will save the expense of purchasing or extending the lease, and you will not need any solicitor or surveyor to negotiate or guide you with the freeholder. 

So why not schedule an appointment with our experts and have a valuation of your property quickly. They will guide your short-lease term issue and will provide you with the best solution.

Problems with a short-term lease

Usually, short-term lease issues occur when the owner cannot manage to extend their lease

The biggest issue with the short lease is that shorter leases are hard to sell. The shorter the property lease, the lesser the value.

Are you facing problems during your lease extension process or buying or selling a freehold of a house? Call 01753542984 for a 10-minute free consultation and talk with our lease extension specialists to solve your issue.