When looking to buy a flat, prospective purchasers will often receive details of the property from the agent.  These details, along with the agents glowing description of the property, will often focus on the best points about the property.  What more would you expect?  The agents are, after all, sales people.  When you look into the nitty-gritty of the details, there will always be two items with insufficient detail:  the length of the lease and the amount of the service charge.   These items are often accompanied by the mysterious “tba”.   However, the well known mantra of “the devil is in the detail” is never more true than when buying a flat.  You can find out more information about owning a flat in my book. Price aside, perhaps the most important pieces of information you need to know are the length of the lease and the amount of the service charges.  If the lease is short, you’ll probably need a lease extension and these can be expensive.  If the service charges are too high, then you could be overpaying in maintenance costs.  If the service charges are too low, then the building may not be adequately maintained and the value of your investment will suffer.

You’ll get this information eventually, but if you have it upfront then you’ll know sooner whether to waste any time considering the flat as a realistic purchase.  And, that’s probably why the estate agents don’t want to be too forthcoming about this information in the first place….

Leasehold & Freehold Legislation | Property Management Law Blog