Why you should start your Chinatown lease extension

Main reasons to start your Chinatown lease extension today:

A Chinatown leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

Chinatown 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 the lease gets more expensive. Legislation has been in place for sometime now allowing qualifying Chinatown residential leaseholders to extend the terms of long leases. If you are a leasehold owner in Chinatown you must investigate if your lease has between seventy and ninety years left. There are good reasons why a Chinatown flat owner with a lease having around 80 years left should take steps to ensure that a lease extension is actioned without delay

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

Leasehold premises in Chinatown with in excess of 100 years left 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 home. In such circumstances there is often little upside in buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges merit it.

Banks and Building Societies will not grant a mortgage on a short lease

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

The conveyancers that we work with handle Chinatown 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 conveyancer we work with provide it.

Chinatown Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Jake, Chinatown, London,

Jake owned a 2 bedroom apartment in Chinatown being marketed with a lease of a few days over 61 years unexpired. Jake on an informal basis spoke with his landlord a well known Manchester-based freehold company for a lease extension. The freeholder indicated a willingness to extend the lease to 125 years on the basis of an increased rent to £200 per annum. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be due on a lease extension were Jake to exercise his statutory right. Jake obtained expert legal guidance and was able to make a more informed decision and handle with the matter and sell the flat.

Chinatown case:

Last month we were e-mailed by Mrs U Carter , who completed a first floor apartment in Chinatown in October 2007. The question was if we could estimate the premium would likely be to extend the lease by an additional years. Identical homes in Chinatown with 100 year plus lease were worth £295,000. The average ground rent payable was £50 invoiced monthly. The lease ended in 2101. Considering the 75 years remaining we approximated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 not including fees.