When it comes to residential leasehold property in Fulham, you effectively rent it for a certain amount of time. These days flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Even though this may appear like a lengthy period of time, you should think about a lease extension sooner as opposed to later. The general rule is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease increases markedly notably when there are fewer than 80 years remaining. Leasehold owners in Fulham with a lease drawing near to 81 years remaining should seriously think of extending it sooner than later. Once the lease term has under eighty years left, under the relevant statute the landlord can calculate and levy a larger premium, assessed on a technical computation, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is due.
Leasehold properties in Fulham with in excess of one hundred years remaining on the lease are sometimes 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 reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges justify it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Birmingham Midshires | 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. |
| Halifax | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| National Westminster Bank | 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 enhanced control over the value of your Fulham leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in terms of lease length should you want to sell. The conveyancers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
In recent months Callum, started to get close to the 80-year threshold with the lease on his garden apartment in Fulham. In buying his home two decades ago, the lease term was of no bearing. Luckily, he noticed he would soon be paying an escalated premium for a lease extension. Callum arranged for a lease extension just under the wire in August. Callum and the landlord eventually settled on an amount of £5,000 . If the lease had descended to less than 80 years, the sum would have increased by a minimum £1,075.
In 2009 we were e-mailed by Mr and Mrs. U Thomas who, having took over the lease of a garden flat in Fulham in May 2007. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium would be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Similar flats in Fulham with a long lease were valued about £265,000. The average amount of ground rent was £50 billed monthly. The lease came to a finish on 23 March 2099. Given that there were 74 years left we estimated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £9,500 and £11,000 plus fees.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Fulham property is 66 and 66a Wardo Avenue in November 2012. The Tribunal determined that the sum of £8,048 is payable by the Applicants in respect of the price for the freehold of the property This case affected 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 93 years and 162 years.