Belvedere leases on domestic deteriorating in value. Where your lease has about 90 years unexpired, you should start considering the need for a lease extension. Eighty years is a significant number: when the unexpired term of a lease falls below this level then you start incurring an additional element called marriage value. Leasehold owners in Belvedere will usually qualify for a lease extension; however a solicitor should be able check if you qualify. In some situations you may not qualify. There are also strict deadlines and formalities to follow once the process has commenced so it’s prudent to be guided by a conveyancing solicitor during the process.
It is conventional wisdom that a residential leasehold with over one hundred years remaining is worth approximately the same as a freehold. Where an further 90 years added to all but the shortest lease, the property will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years ahead.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Halifax | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Lloyds TSB Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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. |
| Skipton Building Society | 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage For Buy to Let cases: - lettings must not breach any of the lessee’s covenants; and - consent of the lessor to lettings must be obtained if necessary |
| 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. |
The conveyancing solicitors that we work with undertake Belvedere 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.
Subsequent to unsuccessful negotiations with the freeholder of her garden flat in Belvedere, Rebecca started the lease extension process just as her lease was nearing the crucial eighty-year threshold. The lease extension was concluded in August 2007. The landlord’s costs were restricted to slightly above 500 GBP.
In 2014 we were contacted by Dr Noah Ward who, having acquired a first floor apartment in Belvedere in July 1997. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would be for a ninety year lease extension. Comparative premises in Belvedere with a long lease were in the region of £191,400. The average ground rent payable was £55 invoiced annually. The lease ended in 2079. Having 54 years left we calculated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £34,200 and £39,600 exclusive of professional charges.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Belvedere residence 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 number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.