Gerrards Cross leases on residential deteriorating in value. Where your lease has about 90 years unexpired, you should start thinking about a lease extension. If lease term is less than 80 years, you will then be required to pay 50% of the property's 'marriage value' on top of the standard cost of the lease extension to your landlord. Marriage value is the amount of additional value that a lease extension will add to the property. Flat owners in Gerrards Cross will mostly qualify for a lease extension; however a solicitor will confirm if you qualify. In some cases you may not be entitled. There are also strict timetables and formalities to comply with once the process is triggered so it’s prudent to be guided by a lawyer during the process.
Leasehold residencies in Gerrards Cross with more than one hundred years remaining on the lease are often regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such situations there is often little to be gained by buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges warrant it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| 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 |
Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Gerrards Cross,the lease extension solicitors 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 Gerrards Cross valuers.
Half a year ago Kyle, started to get near to the eighty-year threshold with the lease on his ground floor apartment in Gerrards Cross. Having bought his home two decades ago, the unexpired term was of no importance. As luck would have it, he realised he needed to take steps soon on Extending the lease. Kyle was able to extend his lease just in the nick of time last April. Kyle and the freeholder in the end agreed on an amount of £5,000 . If the lease had fallen below 80 years, the sum would have gone up by a minimum £875.
Last Winter we were e-mailed by Mr and Mrs. U Khan , who took over the lease of a ground floor flat in Gerrards Cross in May 2011. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would likely be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Similar properties in Gerrards Cross with a long lease were worth £208,600. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 billed monthly. The lease ran out on 26 July 2083. Having 57 years left we estimated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £30,400 and £35,200 exclusive of professional charges.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Gerrards Cross property is Flats 8, 11 and 15 Craigmore Court 46 Murray Road in December 2013. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 8 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,438 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenants of Flat 11 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,791 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 15 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,638 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . This case related to 3 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 71 years.