Stop! Your Lease Extension in Barnehurst Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Barnehurst 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 Barnehurst 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.

Why you should commence your Barnehurst lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Barnehurst lease extension today:

A Barnehurst lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

As the length of the unexpired term of a Barnehurst domestic lease diminished so does its value and therefore the value of your property. If the lease has, in excess of 125 years remaining then this decrease may be fractional however there will become a stage when a lease has less than 80 years left as part of the premium you will incur is what is termed as a marriage value. This could be significant. It is the main rational as to why you should extend the lease sooner as opposed to later. Many flat owners in Barnehurst will meet the qualifying criteria; that being said a lawyer should be able to confirm if you are eligible for a lease extension. In certain situations you may not qualify, the most frequent reason being that you have not been the owner of the property for two years.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

It is generally considered that a residential leasehold with over 100 years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the premises will be equivalent in value to a freehold for decades to come.

Mortgage lenders may not lend on a short lease

Almost all mortgage companies require a lengthy amount of time remaining on any leasehold property before they will consider lending on it. Even if you don't require a mortgage, you should bear in mind that it is likely that someone wanting to buy your property in the future might well do, so if they can't secure a mortgage, then the value of your property could be adversely impacted. Since 2008 many banks and building societies have increased the required minimum lease length that they are willing to grant a mortgage on

Lender Requirement
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.
Santander You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if:
1. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is between 55 and 82 years, but the actual unexpired term differs by more than one year (whether longer or shorter); or
2. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is more than 82 years but the actual unexpired term is less than 82 years; or
3. no valuation report is provided
However, we will not accept a lease where on expiry of the mortgage:
(i) less than 50 years remain and all or part of the loan is repaid on an interest-only basis: or
(ii) less than 30 years remain and the loan is repaid on a capital and interest basis

We will accept a lease that has been extended under the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 provided statutory compensation would be available to the leaseholder.
TSB Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption.
Royal Bank of Scotland Mortgage term plus 30 years.

Why use us for your lease extension in Barnehurst?

Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Barnehurst,the lease extension solicitors that we work with will always be prepared to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their experience and the close ties they enjoy with Barnehurst valuers.

Barnehurst Lease Extension Example Cases:

Muhammad, Barnehurst, South East London,

Muhammad owned a conversion flat in Barnehurst on the market with a lease of just over 59 years remaining. Muhammad informally approached his freeholder being a well known Manchester-based freehold company for a lease extension. The freeholder was prepared to agree an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years subject to a new rent to start with set at £100 per annum and increase every twenty five years thereafter. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be due on a lease extension were Muhammad to exercise his statutory right. Muhammad obtained expert advice and was able to make an informed decision and handle with the matter and ending up with a market value flat.

Barnehurst case:

Last year we were called by Mr and Mrs. D Collins , who bought a newly refurbished apartment in Barnehurst in July 2006. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord would be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparable premises in Barnehurst with 100 year plus lease were valued around £205,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £50 invoiced yearly. The lease finished in 2105. Having 79 years left we approximated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus fees.

Decision in Bexley

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Barnehurst premises is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case related to 13 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 76 years.