Main reasons to start your Harefield lease extension

Why you should commence your Harefield lease extension today:

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

Harefield leases on residential properties are gradually diminishing in value. The shorter the remaining lease term becomes, the less it is worth – and accordingly any extension of your lease gets more expensive. Legislation has been in place for sometime now which permits qualifying Harefield residential leaseholders to extend the terms of long leases. If you are a leasehold owner in Harefield you would be well advised to see if your lease has between seventy and ninety years left. In particular once the remaining lease term slips under 80 years, the amount payable for any lease extension increases dramatically as an element of the premium you will incur is what is known as a marriage value

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

Leasehold premises in Harefield with more than one hundred years outstanding on the lease are sometimes regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such situations there is often little upside in purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges merit it.

Banks and Building Societies may not lend with a short lease

Most high street banks are tightening their criteria and a meaningful number now require flats to have a minimum of 60 if not 70 years remaining once the mortgage has expired. Given that plenty of flats in Harefield were built in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as a result many now require lease extensions if they if they are to be mortgageable.

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

The conveyancers that we work with handle Harefield 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.

Harefield Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Gemma, Harefield, North London,

After unsuccessful correspondence with the landlord of her first floor apartment in Harefield, Gemma started the lease extension process as the 80 year deadline was rapidly advancing. The legal work was finalised in October 2006. The freeholder’s charges were restricted to about 450 pounds.

Harefield case:

Mr and Mrs. L Phillips purchased a newly refurbished apartment in Harefield in July 1999. The dilemma was if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Comparative flats in Harefield with an extended lease were in the region of £280,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £45 collected yearly. The lease ended on 19 July 2096. Considering the 70 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £12,400 and £14,200 not including fees.