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Why you should commence your Crosby lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Crosby lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Crosby property value

The re-sale value of a leasehold property in Crosby depends on how long the lease has remaining. If it is close to or less than eighty years you should anticipate difficulties on re-sale, so it is advisable to arrange for a lease extension before buying. It is ideal to start the process of extending the lease is when the lease still has 82 years remaining so that a lease extension can be addressed well before the eighty year threshold. Statute enables Crosby qualifying lessees to an additional term of 90 years on top of the remaining term, at a nominal rent (no ground rent). The purpose of the valuation is to determine the sum payable by the lessee to the freeholder for the acquisition of the lease extension.

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold residencies in Crosby with in excess of one hundred years unexpired on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such situations there is often little to be gained by buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges justify it.

Lenders may decide not to issue a mortgage with a short lease

The trend since over the last decade has been for lenders to tighten lending criteria across the board - this has extended to the property over which the mortgage is to be granted. This has meant the unexpired lease term required by mortgage companies has increased. Historically banks were content with 25 years plus the term of the loan - routinely fifty year leases but those requirements have been chipped away by the requirement for longer and longer leases - many now have a minimum term of 75 years as standard.

Lender Requirement
Leeds Building Society 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.
National Westminster Bank Mortgage term plus 30 years.
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
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
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.

Why use us for your lease extension in Crosby?

The conveyancing solicitors that we work with procure Crosby 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 lawyer we work with provide it.

Crosby Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Alicia, Crosby, Merseyside,

Off the back of protracted negotiations with the freeholder of her ground floor flat in Crosby, Alicia started the lease extension process just as the lease was approaching the crucial 80-year threshold. The legal work completed in July 2010. The freeholder’s charges were restricted to about 650 pounds.

Crosby case:

In 2012 we were approached by Mr and Mrs. T Hernández who, having was assigned a lease of a garden apartment in Crosby in October 2000. The question was if we could estimate the price would likely be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Identical flats in Crosby with a long lease were valued about £223,400. The average amount of ground rent was £60 billed every twelve months. The lease terminated in 2083. Given that there were 59 years unexpired we calculated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £27,600 and £31,800 plus expenses.

Crosby case:

Last year we were called by Mr H Davis , who acquired a newly refurbished flat in Crosby in September 1997. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord would likely be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparative flats in Crosby with a long lease were in the region of £205,000. The average amount of ground rent was £50 billed per annum. The lease expired in 2103. Taking into account 79 years as a residual term we approximated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional charges.