Spent a bit of time investigating whether to buy the flat I currently rent as the landlord has put it up for sale. After looking into the details it looks like I'd need to pay around £100/month in service charges each month, £20/month in ground rent, and the leasehold runs currently runs for another 109 years. I spoke to my bank, Halifax, and they said they only offer mortgages for leaseholds with 90+ years on them, but after looking around at some older discussions on leaseholds I noticed that 60-70 years used to be acceptable. It also sounds like some recent legislation has led to new builds having leaseholds of 999 years.
My concern is that while my bank would approve a mortgage, the minimum leasehold length to secure a mortgage might increase again, making it lose a lot of value when trying to sell. Additionally I could find myself looking to sell with 90-100 years on the leasehold in the future and competing with new builds that have much longer leaseholds and are much more secure, further driving the value down. From what I've seen it looks like the current owner bought the property for £148,000 but is willing to sell for £138,000, which at first glance looks like a good deal but with the context of the leasehold makes me wary.
I think I've talked myself out of it at this point but since this is my first foray into the market I'm curious if I'm blowing the issue out of proportion. I know leaseholds can be extended, but the cost sounds quite high and the world of service charges and ground rent sounds quite murky and filled with its own risks.