Stop! Your Lease Extension in Chadderton Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Chadderton 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 Chadderton 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 Chadderton lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Chadderton lease extension today:

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

When it comes to residential leasehold premises in Chadderton, you are actually buying an entitlement to reside in a property for a set period of time. These days flat leases typically tend to be for 99 years or 125. Even though this may appear like a long period of time, you should consider extending the lease sooner as opposed to later. Accepted thinking is that the shorter the number of years is the cost of extending the lease becomes disproportionately greater notably once there are less than eighty years remaining. Anyone in Chadderton with a lease drawing near to 81 years unexpired should seriously think of extending it as soon as possible. Once a lease has below 80 years outstanding, under the relevant statute the freeholder can calculate and charge a larger premium, assessed on a technical multiplication, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is payable.

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold premises in Chadderton with in excess of one hundred years remaining on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such circumstances there is often little to be gained by purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges justify it.

Lending institutions will not issue a mortgage with a short lease

Lending institutions have set criteria when loaning monies secured on leasehold property. Many will simply refuse lend at all once an unexpired lease term slips lower than a certain unexpired lease term. Many Mortgage lenders will not regard property with a remaining term of less than seventy years as adequate security. As well as this being important when selling, it is also relevant if you are intending to remortgage your Chadderton home.

Lender Requirement
Bank of Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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.
Nationwide Building Society - Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years.
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).

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
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.

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 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- 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 is 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 55 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% 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 (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- 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 (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- 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 charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis

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% 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 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.
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.

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

The lawyers that we work with handle Chadderton 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.

Chadderton Lease Extension Case Studies:

Alfie, Chadderton, Greater Manchester

Two years ago Alfie, started to get near to the 80-year mark with the lease on his leasehold apartment in Chadderton. In buying his property two decades ago, the length of the lease was of no bearing. As luck would have it, he became aware that he needed to take action soon on Extending the lease. Alfie arranged for a lease extension just ahead of time in April. Alfie and the landlord who owned the flat above subsequently agreed on the final figure of £5,500 . If he not met the deadline, the sum would have become more exhorbitant by at least £1,100.

Chadderton case:

Dr T Torres took over the lease of a first floor apartment in Chadderton in March 1998. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium could be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Comparable properties in Chadderton with 100 year plus lease were worth £235,200. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £45 invoiced every twelve months. The lease termination date was in 2092. Taking into account 66 years outstanding we estimated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £12,400 and £14,200 plus costs.

Chadderton case:

Last Summer we were e-mailed by Dr Charlie Bell , who owned a one bedroom apartment in Chadderton in June 2008. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord could be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Comparable flats in Chadderton with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £280,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £55 billed quarterly. The lease termination date was in 2103. Taking into account 77 years remaining we approximated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £13,300 and £15,400 plus expenses.