Stop! Your Lease Extension in Eltham Could Be FREE

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Many leaseholders in Eltham 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 Eltham 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 Eltham lease extension

Top reasons for lease extension now:

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

Unfortunately that a Eltham residential lease is a wasting asset. The lease value drops in proportion to its lease length. The extent of this is not fully appreciated in the first few years due to the reduction being disguised by increases in the Eltham property market.Where your lease has approximately ninety years left, you should start thinking about a lease extension. An important point to note is that it is desirable for lease extension to take place before the term of the existing lease falls lower than 80 years - otherwise a higher amount will be payable. The majority of leasehold owners in Eltham will be able to extend under the legislation; however a conveyancer should be able to clarify if you qualify for an extension. In some cases you may not be entitled. There are also strict deadlines and procedures to be adhered to once the process is instigated and you will need to be guided by your lawyer from beginning to end of the process.

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

Leasehold premises in Eltham with more than 100 years remaining on the lease are often regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such situations there is often little upside in purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges justify it.

Banks and Building Societies may decide not to lend with a short lease

The trend since over the last decade has been for lenders to tighten lending requirements generally - this has extended to the types of security over which the home loan is to be granted. This has resulted in the minimum number of years remaining under the lease required by banks has increased. In the past mortgage companies would lend on a lease with twenty years plus the term of the loan - routinely 50 year leases but those requirements are being increasingly undermined by the requirement for lengthy leases - many use a minimum term of 75 years as standard.

Lender Requirement
Accord Mortgages 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.
Barclays plc Leases with less than 70 years at the commencement of the mortgage are not acceptable.

Leases with fewer than 70 years should only be referred to the issuing office where the following scenario applies, as discretion may be applied subject to bank approval:

• Property is located in any of the following prestigious developments: Cadogan, Crown, Grosvenor, Howard de Walden, Portman or Wellcome Trust Estates in Central London AND
• The value of the property subject to the short remaining term is £500,000 or more AND
• The loan to value does not exceed 90% for purchases, 90% like for like re-mortgages, 80% for re-mortgages with any element of capital raising and 80% for existing Barclays mortgage borrowers applying for additional borrowing;
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.
Leeds Building Society 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.

Why use us for your lease extension in Eltham?

Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Eltham,the lease extension lawyers that we work with will always be willing to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with Eltham valuers.

Eltham Lease Extension Example Cases:

Melissa, Eltham, South East London,

After lengthy correspondence with the landlord of her leasehold apartment in Eltham, Melissa started the lease extension process as the 80 year deadline was swiftly advancing. The legal work was finalised in June 2010. The freeholder’s charges were kept to an absolute minimum.

Eltham case:

Last Winter we were called by Ms Catherine Cox , who acquired a garden flat in Eltham in October 2001. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would likely be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Comparative residencies in Eltham with 100 year plus lease were valued around £171,800. The average amount of ground rent was £55 invoiced yearly. The lease terminated in 2076. Having 50 years outstanding we approximated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £33,300 and £38,400 exclusive of expenses.

Decision in Greenwich

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Eltham premises is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case affected 1 flat.