Bishopston leases on residential properties are gradually losing value. The shorter the remaining lease term becomes, the less it is worth – and as a result any extension of your lease gets more expensive. Legislation has been in place for sometime now which entitles qualifying Bishopston residential leaseholders to extend the terms of long leases. Where you are a leasehold owner in Bishopston you really ought to investigate if your lease has between 70 and 90 years left. In particular once the remaining lease term slips under eighty years, the cost of any lease extension increases dramatically as an element of the premium you will incur is what is known as a marriage value
It is conventional wisdom that a property with in excess of one hundred years unexpired lease term is worth approximately the same as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to any lease with more than 35 years unexpired, the premises will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years in the future.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must also be not less than 75 years at the outset of the mortgage. |
| 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 |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
Engaging our service gives you better control over the value of your Bishopston leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in relation to the lease length should you decide to sell. The conveyancing solicitors that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Following lengthy correspondence with the freeholder of her garden apartment in Bishopston, Holly initiated the lease extension process just as the lease was nearing the critical 80-year deadline. The legal work completed in January 2010. The landlord’s fees were restricted to approximately 700 pounds.
Last month we were contacted by Mr and Mrs. F Thompson , who completed a ground floor flat in Bishopston in October 2004. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would likely be for a 90 year lease extension. Identical premises in Bishopston with an extended lease were in the region of £245,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £45 invoiced annually. The lease end date was on 27 January 2094. Having 68 years left we calculated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £9,500 and £11,000 exclusive of fees.
In 2009 we were contacted by Dr Francesca Sánchez who, having took over the lease of a purpose-built flat in Bishopston in March 2005. The question was if we could estimate the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Similar premises in Bishopston with an extended lease were worth £285,000. The average amount of ground rent was £55 invoiced per annum. The lease came to a finish in 2105. Having 79 years unexpired we estimated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £13,300 and £15,400 plus costs.