Selling a flat with a short lease

Struggling to sell a flat with a short lease? We will buy your flat for cash

If the lease on your property has less than 80 years on it left to run then you may have difficulty finding a buyer unless you extend it.

This can be a lengthy and costly process - often costing £10,000+, but is often necessary if you are looking to sell through the traditional estate agency route.

We are a cash property buying company - meaning we buy homes fast for cash.

We regularly buy flats with short leases, without requiring you to pay for a lease extension before the sale takes place.

Contact us to find out more information or how much we will pay for your flat.

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What problems could having a short lease cause?

If your flat has a lease under 80 years then it could cause various problems for you. These include:

  • As the lease gets shorter the value of your property reduces
  • Buyers are often put off a flat with a short lease due to the cost and complicated nature of extending it. They will also have to own the flat for two years before they can apply to get it extended
  • If you want to remortgage you may find you cannot get a mortgage on a flat with short lease
  • Many mortgage companies won’t lend to a future buyer
  • The cost of extending a lease increases as the lease gets shorter

If you do decide to extend your lease then you should find a solicitor who has experience in extending leases. If others in your building are in a similar situation you could consider collective enfranchisement where you can force the freeholder to sell to you.

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They were trustworthy, reliable, honest, accommodating and very flexible. Duncan has been extremely patient and helpful. Highly recommended.

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Why choose us to buy your flat with a short lease?

We are not put off buying a property because it has a short lease.

At House Buy Fast we offer an alternative to the traditional estate agent route. We pay cash for property using our own funds and can buy your flat quickly or in a timescale to suit you. We make a guaranteed offer - meaning we won’t pull out of buying your flat. We also cover all solicitor fees and there is no cost to use our service.

How much will you pay for my flat with a short lease?

We will pay under full market value for your flat. A flat with a short lease will never get market value due to the costs and issues associated with extending a lease. When considering whether to sell your flat to a cash property buyer you should consider the costs associated with selling your flat through other methods - such as estate agent fees, the price reduction for having a short lease and any costs for cosmetic repairs.

As a guide below is a table of costs for selling your property to us and through an estate agent.

House Buy Fast vs Estate Agents Sale

Compare the cost of selling your home with traditional Estate Agents and Property Buyers.

Selling to us for cash 3 days+ Selling via Estate Agent 6 months+

Asking Price

£100,000

Asking Price

£100,000

Average agreed purchase price

£80,000

Average agreed purchase price

£95,000

Final agreed price after survey

£80,000

Final agreed price after survey

£93,000

Estate Agent fees

£0.00

Estate Agent fees**

£1,674 inc VAT

Cosmetic repairs (if required)

£0.00

Cosmetic repairs (if required)

£750

Solicitor fees

£0.00

Solicitor fees

£1,000.00

Council tax and other bills (while sales is going through)

£150

Council tax and other bills (while sales is going through)

£1,800

Average Mortgage payments (while sale is going through)

£0.00

Average Mortgage payments (while sale is going through)†

£1,600

Net price achieved

£80,000

Net price achieved

£86,000
Get a quote See our guide

*These figures are for guidance only, individual sums can vary.

**Assumes 1.5% of sale price (plus VAT).

†Assumes £80,000 at 4% PA.

Jonathan Rolande
Short leases can cause real problems when trying to sell a property. If your lease is approaching 80 years left then you should act fast.
Jonathan Rolande - Director

Industry regulators & redress schemes

Properties we've bought

Front of property
Sheerness, Kent

Three bedroom terraced house with lounge, family room, kitchen and bathroom.

raunds-northamptonshire-front-of-property-grid
Raunds, Northamptonshire

A 1985 built three bedroom detached house with single garage and small rear garden.

Front of property
Barwick, Stockton-on-Tees

The seller wanted complete certainty of sale on this detached 4 bedroom house.

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Frequently asked questions

Selling a flat with a short lease

What if my situation changes and I don't need to sell?

If your situation changes and you no longer need to sell your house that’s completely fine.

Remember, we pride ourselves on making the whole process zero risk and zero fees to the seller. We’ll even cover the costs of your solicitor until that point, so there is nothing for you to worry about if your circumstances do change.

Not the answer you were looking for? Contact us and ask us directly either by email or phone.

What are the pros & cons of using a cash property buyer?

There are many differences between our property buying service and traditional estate agency. We’ve listed just some of the pros and cons below.

Pros:

  • A time frame to complete the sale that suits you
  • An online private service that promises to offer you a discreet sale
  • We buy your home directly with cash. No mortgage is used to buy your property
  • We buy any property in any condition
  • We don’t tie you into any commitments or contracts
  • We provide independent and impartial property valuations supplied by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

Cons:

  • Potentially could achieve more on the open market using traditional estate agency

Not the answer you were looking for? Contact us and ask us directly either by email or phone.

How do you work out the value of my property?

Our team of trusted property valuers have over 50 years worth of experience, and use valuation tools that are only available to our company. This will be your preliminary house valuation that we will offer to you within a day.

We will also send an independent surveyor from RICS to take a look at your home for any unseen problems. The independent surveyor will then provide House Buy Fast with a formal valuation which we can use to put forward our offer on your property. A formal valuation of your home can take up to two working days.

Not the answer you were looking for? Contact us and ask us directly either by email or phone.

Does House Buy Fast charge any fees or costs?

We don’t charge you a penny when using our property buying service. House Buy Fast also covers all the house valuation fees - and don’t forget you’ll be saving money that you would otherwise be paying to an estate agent.

This means once you’ve received your property valuation you know that this is the amount of money you will receive at completion - no fuss - no fees.

Not the answer you were looking for? Contact us and ask us directly either by email or phone.

Is House Buy Fast a member of any professional bodies?

We’ve been industry leaders in promoting a fair deal for sellers in the property buying sector, appearing on ITV pressing the issue.

We are members of The Property Ombudsman Scheme, meaning there is a form of redress if anything goes wrong with a property buying company.

We’re also founding members of The National Association of Property Buyers which was formed in 2013 to improve standards in the quick house sale industry and helped many sellers get a fair deal.

Not the answer you was looking for? Contact us and ask us directly either by email or phone.

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You should always seek independent legal advice before selling your property

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