Stop! Your Lease Extension in Hampstead Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Hampstead 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 Hampstead 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 Hampstead lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Hampstead lease extension today:

A Hampstead lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

Hampstead leases on residential deteriorating in value. Where your lease has in the region of 90 years unexpired, you should start thinking about a lease extension. 80 years is a significant number: when the unexpired term of a lease drops below this level then you start paying an additional element called marriage value. Flat owners in Hampstead will mostly be legally entitled to a lease extension; however it’s a good idea to check with a conveyancer to check if you qualify. In certain circumstances you may not qualify. There are prescribed deadlines and procedures to follow once the process is initiated so it’s prudent to be guided by a conveyancer during the process.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

It is conventional wisdom that a residential leasehold with over one hundred years remaining is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an further 90 years added to all but the shortest lease, the residence will be worth the same as a freehold for many years ahead.

Lenders may decide not to grant a mortgage on a short lease

Nearly all banks and building societies require a lengthy amount of time remaining on a leasehold residence before they will contemplate providing a mortgage on it. Even if you don't need a mortgage, you should be conscious that it is probable that someone intending to buy your property in the future might well do, so where they can't obtain a mortgage, then the market price of the property could suffer. Since 2008 many mortgage lenders have increased the required minimum lease length that they are willing to lend on

Lender Requirement
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.
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.
Leeds Building Society 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.
Virgin 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.
Yorkshire 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.

Get in touch with one of our Hampstead lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

Retaining our service gives you increased control over the value of your Hampstead leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in relation to the lease length should you want to sell. The conveyancers that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Hampstead Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Zachary, Hampstead, North London

18 months ago Zachary, started to get near to the 80-year mark with the lease on his ground floor apartment in Hampstead. In buying his property two decades ago, the lease term was of little bearing. Fortunately, he noticed he would imminently be paying way over the odds for a lease extension. Zachary extended the lease just under the wire last September. Zachary and the landlord in the end agreed on a premium of £6,000 . If the lease had slipped below 80 years, the price would have gone up by at least £1,100.

Hampstead case:

Mr and Mrs. T Robinson acquired a one bedroom flat in Hampstead in July 2004. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would be to extend the lease by ninety years. Similar properties in Hampstead with a long lease were valued around £173,800. The average amount of ground rent was £60 billed annually. The lease elapsed on 26 February 2081. Given that there were 55 years left we approximated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £31,400 and £36,200 exclusive of professional charges.

Decision in Camden

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Hampstead residence is Raised Ground Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 16.83 and 16.43.