When a direct cash sale makes sense
We are LDN Properties, a direct cash buyer operating across London since 2003. A few recurring situations lead homeowners to look at a direct sale rather than the open market.
Properties that need significant work are one of the more common reasons homeowners look at a direct sale. Estate agents typically advise spending on repairs and presentation before listing — a route that can run to tens of thousands of pounds and several months — and many sellers would prefer to sell the property as it stands. We are typically happy to consider properties in their current condition, including those with structural issues, damp, dated services or significant cosmetic work outstanding.
Problem properties sit in a similar bracket: non-standard construction, cladding under review, lapsed planning, boundary disputes or other issues that tend to put off open-market buyers and their mortgage lenders. We are typically happy to consider these alongside straightforward stock.
Personal circumstances make up the balance of the reasons we hear — probate, divorce, relocation, financial difficulty, downsizing and ill-health. Flats with shorter leases also come up regularly, particularly where a formal extension would be expensive; our short-lease guide covers that situation in more detail.
The Kentish Town property market
The property landscape in Kentish Town is dominated by Victorian terraced housing, with streets such as Kentish Town Road, Fortess Road, Leighton Road, Lady Margaret Road and Patshull Road making up much of the residential stock. A large proportion of these terraces have been converted into two- and three-flat layouts, often with the upper floors held on separate leases. Alongside the period stock there is a meaningful share of post-war local-authority housing, including the larger estates around Highgate Road and parts of Holmes Road, plus a smaller number of modern infill schemes along the Regent’s Canal towpath.
This mix of building types brings several considerations that are worth understanding when selling. Many leases on conversion flats and ex-local-authority blocks granted during the post-war period are now sitting between 60 and 90 years remaining, and anything below 80 years brings the property into marriage value territory under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. Larger blocks tend to run regular cycles of major works under Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, with cost notices arriving in the conveyancing pack at less than helpful moments. Our guide to selling a short lease flat sets out the options in detail.
Recent Land Registry transactions in NW5 typically show one-bedroom flats selling in the £375,000 to £475,000 range, two-bedroom flats between £550,000 and £750,000 depending on tenure and condition, and Victorian terraced houses commonly between £1.1 million and £1.8 million. Ex-local-authority stock generally clears at a discount to the period housing on the same street.
