Protect your investment - don't forget to extend your lease

Posted by Willmotts Chartered Surveyors on 24th March 2020 -

 

Imagine the horror of thinking your property is worth £500k, when it is actually only worth £180k!

We recently met a brother and sister who had inherited a dream property in Hammersmith, a huge 2 bed flat on a lovely road. The last flat on the same road to sell was only a few weeks before, selling for £500,000 the future looked promising.

We did some investigating for them and found out that their parent had not extended the lease, it had been allowed to run down to almost 30 years remaining. If it had been extended it much earlier, before the 70 year mark, it would have cost a very small amount. Unfortunately because it was neglected, it was going to cost nearly £300,000 to extend. Therefore sadly the sale value of the property was reflective of the short lease.

It can be heartbreaking news to find out your property is not what it seems, we would love to be able to help you protect your home. If you or anyone you know have a leasehold flat, make sure you know how long is left on the lease. Every year that you wait makes it much more expensive to extend. If you need any help or simply some advice at all, email [email protected] or call 0208 222 9908