Stop! Your Lease Extension in Ealing Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Ealing 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 Ealing 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.

Main reasons to commence your Ealing lease extension


Why you should commence your Ealing lease extension today:

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

When it comes to residential leasehold premises in Ealing, you are actually buying an entitlement to reside in a property for a prescribed time frame. In recent years flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Many leasehold owners are unconcerned as this seems like a long period of time, you may think about a lease extension sooner as opposed to later. The general rule is that the shorter the number of years is the cost of extending the lease increases markedly notably when there are less than 80 years left. Residents in Ealing with a lease approaching 81 years left should seriously consider extending it as soon as possible. When the lease term has less than 80 years outstanding, under the relevant legislation the landlord is entitled to calculate and charge a greater premium, based on a technical calculation, known as “marriage value” which is due.

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold premises in Ealing with more than 100 years outstanding 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 buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and estate charges merit it.

Mortgage lenders will not grant a mortgage with a short lease

Most high street banks are tightening their criteria and a meaningful number now want flats to have at least 60 if not 70 years remaining once the mortgage has expired. Given that many flats in Ealing were created in the fifties, sixties and seventies this means many now require lease extensions if they if they are to be mortgageable.

Lender Requirement
Barnsley Building Society 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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.
Halifax Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Leeds Building Society 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.
Santander You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if:
1. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is between 55 and 82 years, but the actual unexpired term differs by more than one year (whether longer or shorter); or
2. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is more than 82 years but the actual unexpired term is less than 82 years; or
3. no valuation report is provided
However, we will not accept a lease where on expiry of the mortgage:
(i) less than 50 years remain and all or part of the loan is repaid on an interest-only basis: or
(ii) less than 30 years remain and the loan is repaid on a capital and interest basis

We will accept a lease that has been extended under the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 provided statutory compensation would be available to the leaseholder.

What makes us experts in Ealing lease extensions?

Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Ealing,the lease extension experts that we work with will always be happy to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their experience and the close ties they enjoy with Ealing valuers.

Ealing Lease Extension Example Cases:

Oscar, Ealing, West London

Last year Oscar, came seriously near to the 80-year mark with the lease on his leasehold apartment in Ealing. In buying his home 19 years previously, the lease term was of no relevance. Luckily, he noticed he needed to take steps soon on a lease extension. Oscar was able to extend his lease just under the wire in August. Oscar and the landlord in the end agreed on an amount of £5,500 . If he not met the deadline, the figure would have gone up by at least £900.

Ealing case:

In 2013 we were called by Ms M Turner who, having purchased a first floor apartment in Ealing in November 2008. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) compensation to the landlord could be to extend the lease by ninety years. Comparative properties in Ealing with a long lease were worth £206,200. The average ground rent payable was £60 invoiced yearly. The lease expired on 4 November 2082. Having 56 years unexpired we approximated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £31,400 and £36,200 plus legals.

Decision in Ealing

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Ealing flat is Flat 4 38 The Mall in April 2014. the Tribunal held that the premium payable for the lease extension to be £25,451 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 68.7 years.