Stop! Your Lease Extension in Hanwell Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Hanwell 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 Hanwell 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.

Top reasons for Hanwell lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Hanwell lease extension today:

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

Hanwell leases on residential properties are gradually losing value. Where your lease has about ninety years unexpired, you should start considering the need for a lease extension. Eighty years is a significant number: when the unexpired term of a lease falls below this level then you begin paying an additional element called marriage value. Leasehold owners in Hanwell will mostly be legally entitled to a lease extension; however it’s a good idea to check with a conveyancing solicitor to confirm if you qualify. In some situations you may not qualify. There are prescribed timetables and formalities to comply with once the process is initiated so it’s sensible to be guided by a conveyancer during the process.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

Leasehold premises in Hanwell with over one hundred years unexpired 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 reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges justify it.

Lenders will not finance a property with a short lease

Most mortgage lenders have narrowed their lending criteria in recent years and borrowers are finding it increasingly difficult to raise funding or re-mortgage against flats with shorter lease terms, particularly under 75 years as they are considered to be insufficient security.

Lender Requirement
Accord Mortgages 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.
Barclays plc Leases with less than 70 years at the commencement of the mortgage should be declined (see exception below).

Leases with fewer than 70 years should only be referred to the issuing office where the following scenario applies, as discretion may be applied subject to bank approval:

• Property is located in any of the following prestigious developments: Cadogan, Crown, Grosvenor, Howard de Walden, Portman or Wellcome Trust Estates in Central London AND
• The value of the property subject to the short remaining term is £500,000 or more AND
• The loan to value does not exceed 90% for purchases, 90% like for like re-mortgages, 80% for re-mortgages with any element of capital raising and 80% for existing Barclays mortgage borrowers applying for additional borrowing;
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.
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.
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.

Why use us for your lease extension in Hanwell?

The conveyancing solicitors that we work with handle Hanwell 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 conveyancing solicitor we work with provide it.

Hanwell Lease Extension Case Studies:

Connor, Hanwell, West London

Last Summer Connor, started to get near to the 80-year threshold with the lease on his two bedroom apartment in Hanwell. Having bought his home twenty years previously, the lease term was of little significance. Luckily, it dawned on him that he needed to take action soon on Extending the lease. Connor was able to extend his lease just under the wire last July. Connor and the freeholder via the managing agents eventually settled on a premium of £5,500 . If he had missed the deadline, the amount would have gone up by a minimum £950.

Hanwell case:

Last Christmas we were contacted by Mr I Fournier , who acquired a purpose-built apartment in Hanwell in April 2002. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparative properties in Hanwell with an extended lease were in the region of £275,000. The average ground rent payable was £55 collected per annum. The lease ran out in 2102. Considering the 76 years left we estimated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus expenses.

Decision in Ealing

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Hanwell premises is 6 Jessamine Road in August 2013. The Tribunals valuation (as annexed to the decision) calculated the amount payable as £18,355 for the freehold reversion This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 72.39 years.