For anyone whose Bexley property is held on a long lease, the message is clear – if you ignore the situation, your property will ultimately revert to your landlord, leaving you empty-handed. The fewer the years remaining the less it is worth and the more it will cost to extend the lease.
Leasehold residencies in Bexley with more than 100 years remaining 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 home. In such situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and estate charges merit it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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. |
| Leeds Building Society | 85 years remaining from the start 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. |
| TSB | Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption. |
Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Bexley,the lease extension experts that we work with will always be happy to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their experience and the close ties they enjoy with Bexley valuers.
18 months ago Jack, came very close to the 80-year mark with the lease on his ground floor flat in Bexley. In buying his property 19 years ago, the unexpired term was of minimal concern. by good luck, he noticed he needed to take action soon on a lease extension. Jack extended the lease just under the wire in May. Jack and the landlord who owned the flat above eventually settled on a premium of £5,000 . If the lease had slipped below 80 years, the sum would have gone up by at least £975.
Last Winter we were phoned by Dr M Baker , who owned a garden apartment in Bexley in August 2008. The dilemma was if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Comparable properties in Bexley with 100 year plus lease were worth £267,600. The average ground rent payable was £65 collected quarterly. The lease came to a finish in 2093. Having 67 years remaining we estimated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £14,300 and £16,400 exclusive of fees.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Bexley property is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case related to 1 flat.