For anyone whose Dulwich home is held on a long lease, our message is clear – if you ignore the situation, your property will ultimately revert to the freeholder, leaving you empty-handed. The shorter the lease the less it is worth and the more it will cost to extend the lease.
Leasehold residencies in Dulwich with more than one hundred years left on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such situations there is often little upside in purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and service charges warrant it.
| 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. |
| Santander | If the property is leasehold, the remaining unexpired lease term at the end of the new mortgage term must be at least 50 years where any part of the mortgage is on Interest Only and 30 years if all loan parts are on Capital Repayment and Interest. You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if:
|
| 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 |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
The conveyancers that we work with undertake Dulwich 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.
Nathaniel was the the leasehold owner of a studio apartment in Dulwich on the market with a lease of a few days over 59 years outstanding. Nathaniel on an informal basis contacted his landlord a well known London-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 £50 yearly. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be due on a lease extension were Nathaniel to exercise his statutory right. Nathaniel obtained expert legal guidance and secured an acceptable deal without resorting to tribunal and sell the property.
Ms Francesca Ramírez moved into a garden flat in Dulwich in April 1996. We are asked if we could approximate the price would be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Identical flats in Dulwich with a long lease were in the region of £290,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £45 billed every twelve months. The lease lapsed in 2099. Having 73 years remaining we estimated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £9,500 and £11,000 exclusive of professional charges.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Dulwich premises is 60 Taymount Grange Taymount Rise in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the premium at £13,346 for a lease extension of a further 90 years This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 64 years.