Owning a apartment usually means owning a lease of the property, this is a ‘time-limited’ interest becoming shorter every day. The lease will ordinarily be granted for a prescribed period of time , ordinarily 99 or 125 years, although we have seen longer and shorter terms in Flitwick. Inevitably, the length of lease left shortens as time goes by. This is often overlooked and only becomes a problem when the residence has to be sold or re-mortgaged. The fewer the years remaining the less it is worth and the more it will cost to extend the lease. Eligible long lease owners in Flitwick have the right to extend the lease for a further ninety years under Leasehold Reform legislation. Please give careful deliberation before putting off your Flitwick lease extension. Putting off the cost now simply increases the price you will eventually have to pay to extend your lease
Leasehold residencies in Flitwick with more than 100 years remaining on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such circumstances there is often little upside in purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges merit it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Bank of Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Coventry Building Society | 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. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must be at least 30 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset of the mortgage. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
Retaining our service gives you increased control over the value of your Flitwick leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in terms of lease length should you decide to sell. The conveyancers that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Sam owned a 2 bedroom flat in Flitwick on the market with a lease of a little over fifty eight years remaining. Sam informally spoke with his landlord being a well known London-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord was prepared to grant an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years subject to an increased rent to £100 yearly. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be due on a lease extension were Sam to exercise his statutory right. Sam obtained expert legal guidance and was able to make an informed decision and handle with the matter and readily saleable.
In 2011 we were contacted by Mr and Mrs. E Ali who, having purchased a ground floor apartment in Flitwick in May 2008. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would be to extend the lease by ninety years. Similar premises in Flitwick with a long lease were in the region of £210,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £50 billed per annum. The lease expiry date was on 21 March 2106. Given that there were 80 years unexpired we approximated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £8,600 and £9,800 not including professional charges.
In 2014 we were called by Dr Luca Ricardo who, having acquired a recently refurbished flat in Flitwick in July 1999. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) compensation to the landlord could be to extend the lease by ninety years. Identical residencies in Flitwick with a long lease were valued about £280,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £45 billed yearly. The lease came to a finish in 2095. Considering the 69 years left we approximated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 plus expenses.