Bishop Auckland Lease Extension - Free Consultation

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Top reasons for Bishop Auckland lease extension


Main reasons to start your Bishop Auckland lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Bishop Auckland property value

It’s a harsh truth that a Bishop Auckland residential lease is a wasting asset. As the lease term reduces so does the value of the property. The extent of this is not fully appreciated in the early years due to the loss of value being disguised by increases in the Bishop Auckland property market.Once your lease gets to 85ish years, you need to start thinking about a lease extension. If the number of years remaining falls below 80 years, you will then be required to pay half of the property's 'marriage value' on top of the usual cost of the lease extension to the landlord. Marriage value is the amount of additional value that a lease extension will add the property The majority of leasehold owners in Bishop Auckland will be able to extend under the legislation; however a conveyancing solicitor will be able to confirm whether you are eligibility. In some cases you may not qualify. There are also strict timetables and procedures to be adhered to once the process has commenced and you will need to be guided by your lawyer from beginning to end of the formalities.

Bishop Auckland property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold

It is generally considered that a property with over one hundred years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the premises will be worth the same as a freehold for decades to come.

Banks and Building Societies may decide not to grant a mortgage with a short lease

The propensity since the credit crunch has been for lenders to tighten lending criteria generally - this has extended to the property over which the mortgage is to be granted. This has resulted in the minimum number of years remaining under the lease required by lenders has increased. In the past lenders would grant a mortgage on a lease with 25 years plus the term of the loan - routinely fifty year leases but those requirements are being increasingly undermined by the requirement for longer and longer leases - many now have a minimum term of 75 years as a prerequisite.

Lender Requirement
Birmingham Midshires 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.
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.
The Mortgage Works Minimum unexpired lease term is 70 years with 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:

Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer

New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer

Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.

SECOND HAND PROPERTIES

Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 70 years
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period less than or equal to 5 years

Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 70 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1.0% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary

Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI

NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)

Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house
- Any lease which is subject to a ground rent (or annual rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a ground rent (or annual rent) being reviewed and altered on any review basis or methodology

Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1.0% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary

Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn ground rent (annual rent) charges

For the avoidance of doubt, any new build properties completed but not sold pre 30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the lease conforms to the above guidance

* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years

LEASE EXTENSIONS

We require all lease extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to the Issuing Office

Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.
Virgin 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.

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

Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Bishop Auckland,the lease extension experts that we work with will always be prepared to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with Bishop Auckland valuers.

Bishop Auckland Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Ellen, Bishop Auckland, County Durham,

Subsequent to protracted discussions with the landlord of her two bedroom apartment in Bishop Auckland, Ellen commenced the lease extension process just as her lease was approaching the all-important 80-year mark. The lease extension completed in February 2007. The freeholder’s costs were negotiated to a tad over 500 GBP.

Bishop Auckland case:

In 2011 we were called by Mr and Mrs. C Torres who, having bought a studio flat in Bishop Auckland in April 1999. The question was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would be to extend the lease by an additional years. Identical homes in Bishop Auckland with an extended lease were in the region of £275,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £45 collected per annum. The lease ran out in 2094. Given that there were 69 years outstanding we calculated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 exclusive of legals.

Bishop Auckland case:

Ms Sophie Rose moved into a basement apartment in Bishop Auckland in March 2006. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Identical properties in Bishop Auckland with a long lease were valued about £216,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 billed per annum. The lease ended in 2083. Having 58 years left we calculated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £28,500 and £33,000 plus fees.