Why you should commence your Amersham lease extension

Top reasons for lease extension now:

Increase your lease and increase your Amersham property value

Amersham leases on residential properties are gradually losing value. The shorter the remaining lease term becomes, the less it is worth – and accordingly any extension of the lease gets more expensive. It is the case that most Amersham tenants have the right to extend their lease by an additional 90 years by virtue of the 1993 Leasehold Reform Act. Where you are a leasehold owner in Amersham you must see if your lease has between seventy and ninety years left. In particular once the remaining lease term slips under 80 years, the compensation to the landlord for any lease extension sharply increases as part of the premium you pay is what is known as a marriage value

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

It is generally considered that a residential leasehold with more than one hundred years remaining is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to all but the shortest lease, the property will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years in the future.

Banks and Building Societies may decide not to finance a property on a short lease

The trend since over the last decade has been for lenders to tighten lending criteria generally - this has extended to the property over which the home loan is to be charged. This has resulted in the minimum number of years remaining under the lease required by mortgage companies has increased. Historically banks would grant a mortgage on a lease with twenty years plus the term of the loan - typically 50 year leases but those requirements evolved by the requirement for lengthy leases - many now have a minimum term of 75 years as a prerequisite.

Get in touch with one of our Amersham lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

The conveyancers that we work with handle Amersham lease extensions and help protect your position. A lease extension can be arranged to be completed to coincide with a change of ownership so the costs of the lease extension are paid for using part of the sale proceeds. You really do need expert legal advice in this difficult and technical area of law. The conveyancer we work with provide it.

Amersham Lease Extension Example Cases:

Imogen, Amersham, Buckinghamshire,

Trailing unsuccessful correspondence with the landlord of her ground floor flat in Amersham, Imogen started the lease extension process just as the lease was nearing the all-important eighty-year deadline. The transaction was finalised in January 2007. The landlord’s fees were kept to an absolute minimum.

Amersham case:

Mr Reuben Patel acquired a studio flat in Amersham in June 1997. The dilemma was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would likely be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Identical residencies in Amersham with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £255,000. The average amount of ground rent was £50 billed monthly. The lease ended on 25 March 2096. Taking into account 71 years as a residual term we approximated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.

Amersham case:

Last Autumn we were called by Mr and Mrs. A Clarke , who bought a purpose-built flat in Amersham in November 2012. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord would be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Identical homes in Amersham with a long lease were worth £254,200. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 billed every twelve months. The lease expiry date was in 2076. Considering the 51 years outstanding we approximated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £43,700 and £50,600 not including legals.