When it comes to long leasehold premises in Forest Gate, you are in fact renting it for a certain period of time. Modern flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Many leasehold owners become complacent as this seems like a long period of time, you may think about a lease extension sooner as opposed to later. Accepted thinking is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease becomes disproportionately more expensive particularly when there are less than 80 years remaining. Anyone in Forest Gate with a lease drawing near to 81 years left should seriously think of extending it as soon as possible. When a lease has below eighty years left, under the current statute the freeholder is entitled to calculate and levy a greater premium, based on a technical calculation, known as “marriage value” which is due.
It is conventional wisdom that a property with more than 100 years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to any lease with more than 35 years unexpired, the premises will be worth the same as a freehold for many years ahead.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| Halifax | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Lloyds TSB Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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 |
| TSB | Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption. |
The conveyancers that we work with handle Forest Gate 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.
Trailing lengthy discussions with the freeholder of her two bedroom apartment in Forest Gate, Charlotte initiated the lease extension process as the 80 year deadline was rapidly advancing. The lease extension was finalised in September 2007. The landlord’s charges were kept to an absolute minimum.
Dr Daniel Roux took over the lease of a first floor flat in Forest Gate in July 2006. The dilemma was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would likely be to extend the lease by ninety years. Comparable premises in Forest Gate with 100 year plus lease were worth £257,800. The mid-range ground rent payable was £65 invoiced yearly. The lease elapsed on 14 August 2090. Given that there were 65 years remaining we calculated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £18,100 and £20,800 plus fees.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Forest Gate premises is 52 & 54 Green Street in February 2010. Following a vesting order by the County Court the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £20,543 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 78 and 80.