Stop! Your Lease Extension in Ampthill Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Ampthill are unaware that their original lawyer had a duty to warn them about future mortgageability and saleability issues. Before you pay thousands to your freeholder, let us audit your purchase history. You might have a claim that pays for your lease extension in full

If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Ampthill has dropped toward the 80-year mark, your previous lawyer may be at fault. Our panel of experts specialise in recovering lease extension costs from negligent firms who failed to protect your investment.

Main reasons to start your Ampthill lease extension


Top reasons for lease extension now:

Increase your lease and increase your Ampthill property value

The value of Ampthill leasehold residential property falls as the lease term becomes shorter and this will have an impact on its saleability. The cost of extending the lease can escalate significantly once the unexpired lease term is less than eighty years

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

Leasehold properties in Ampthill with in excess of 100 years outstanding on the lease are sometimes regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such situations there is often little upside in buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and estate charges justify it.

Mortgage lenders will not finance a property with a short lease

Lenders are making their criteria more stringent and many now expect flats to have a minimum of 60 if not 70 years remaining once the mortgage has expired. As many flats in Ampthill were created in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s this means many now require lease extensions if they if they are to be mortgageable.

Lender Requirement
Bank of Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Godiva Mortgages A minimum of 70 years unexpired lease at completion for all scheme types apart from Lifetime Mortgages (Equity Release), which require a minimum unexpired term of 80 years at completion.
Lloyds TSB Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
TSB Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption.
Yorkshire Building Society 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage. Please ensure that you explain the implications of a short term lease to the borrower.

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

The lawyers that we work with undertake Ampthill 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 conveyancing solicitor we work with provide it.

Ampthill Lease Extension Case Studies:

Adam, Ampthill, Bedfordshire,

Adam owned a studio flat in Ampthill on the market with a lease of a few days over fifty eight years unexpired. Adam informally contacted his freeholder being a well known Bristol-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder indicated a willingness to grant an extension taking the lease to 125 years subject to an increased rent to £50 annually. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Adam to exercise his statutory right. Adam obtained expert advice and secured an acceptable resolution informally and sell the property.

Ampthill case:

In 2009 we were called by Mr and Mrs. L Wright who, having was assigned a lease of a ground floor apartment in Ampthill in July 1998. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) price would likely be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Similar residencies in Ampthill with a long lease were valued around £186,000. The average ground rent payable was £65 billed annually. The lease expiry date was in 2084. Having 58 years outstanding we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £24,700 and £28,600 not including costs.

Ampthill case:

Mrs B Martinez moved into a first floor apartment in Ampthill in June 1999. The question was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Similar premises in Ampthill with an extended lease were in the region of £250,000. The average ground rent payable was £50 collected quarterly. The lease ran out on 25 April 2095. Having 69 years as a residual term we calculated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £9,500 and £11,000 exclusive of fees.