Short (100yr) leasehold apartment

T

tommy265

Guest
Hi, I am interested in buying an apartment in city centre Dublin, but have found out that the leasehold is only for 100 year duration. From searching through the threads on these forums it seems that a normal leasehold for an apartment is 500 to 999 years. Is a short leasehold like this reason enough to walk away? Thanks, Tommy
 
Not unless you expect to need to renew it in person! :) Mortgages lenders require the lease to exceed the mortgage term by 50 years so that's not a problem.

Sarah

www.rea.ie
 
Thanks for the reply.

I suppose my main concern would be that the if I wished to sell the apartment in a few years, the leasehold would turn away potential buyers.


Or maybe I've just watched 'The Field' too many times and have a fixation on owning the land. :)
 
Solicitors consider anything less than 70 years (I think) left to run on a lease not to be 'good marketable title' for the very reasons you highlight above. Once you hit say 90 or 80 years left the value could start dropping dramatically - e.g. if you sell in 10 years time, the buyer may face probs with their mortgage company if say they wanted a 40 year mortgage, for the reasons given by Sarah W.
 
Why not just buy out the lease hold , I think it costs a few hundred euro
 
"Is a short leasehold like this reason enough to walk away? "

Maybe; maybe not. I am afraid that without reading the title and seeing what (if any) reason there is for such a short lease term, it is impossible to advise. Certainly, the short lease term is enough to raise a red flag, at least in Ireland.

If your solicitor is unsure as to the legal consequences of the lease term in this case, you could ask him\her to get a written opinion from conveyancing counsel (which should not cost more than €400 plus V.A.T. unless the title is extremely lengthy\complex)
 
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