Owning a flat usually means owning a lease of the property, this is a ‘time-limited’ interest becoming shorter every day. This lease will normally be granted for a set period of time , ordinarily 99 or 125 years, although we have witnessed longer and shorter terms in Ashton. Clearly, the term of lease remaining shortens over time. This is often overlooked and only becomes a problem when the flat or house needs to be disposed of or re-mortgaged. The shorter the lease the lower the value of the property and the more expensive it will be to obtain a lease extension. Eligible long lease owners in Ashton have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for a further ninety years in accordance with legislation. You should give careful attention before putting off your Ashton lease extension. Putting off that expense now only increases the price you will eventually have to pay to extend your lease
Leasehold premises in Ashton with over one hundred years outstanding on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such circumstances there is often little to be gained by purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges merit it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Accord Mortgages | 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. |
| Chelsea 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. |
| Coventry Building Society | 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. |
| 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. |
| Leeds Building Society | 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage. |
Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Ashton,the lease extension lawyers that we work with will always be willing to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their experience and the close ties they enjoy with Ashton valuers.
Last October Ali, came dangerously close to the eighty-year mark with the lease on his leasehold apartment in Ashton. In buying his home two decades ago, the length of the lease was of no bearing. by good luck, he noticed he needed to take action soon on a lease extension. Ali arranged for a lease extension at the eleventh hour in March. Ali and the landlord who owned the flat above ultimately agreed on the final figure of £6,000 . If he failed to meet the deadline, the amount would have escalated by a minimum £850.
Dr Niamh Nelson completed a garden flat in Ashton in October 1995. The dilemma was if we could estimate the price would be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Comparative homes in Ashton with an extended lease were in the region of £260,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £50 invoiced annually. The lease elapsed in 2098. Given that there were 72 years as a residual term we approximated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £9,500 and £11,000 not including expenses.
In 2010 we were contacted by Dr Tommy Torres who, having acquired a basement flat in Ashton in May 1997. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) price would be to extend the lease by an additional years. Similar flats in Ashton with a long lease were worth £261,600. The mid-range ground rent payable was £60 collected per annum. The lease terminated on 1 May 2078. Considering the 52 years unexpired we calculated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £39,000 and £45,000 plus costs.