Owning a flat usually means owning a lease of the property, this is a ‘time-limited’ interest becoming shorter every day. This lease will ordinarily be granted for a set period of time , ordinarily 99 or 125 years, although we have witnessed longer and shorter terms in Harefield. Inevitably, the period of lease left reduces as time goes by. This may slip by relatively unnoticed when the property has to be sold or re-mortgaged. The shorter the lease the lower the value of the property and the more it will cost to obtain a lease extension. Eligible leaseholders in Harefield have the right to extend the lease for a further 90 years under the 1993 Leasehold Reform Act. You should give due deliberation before putting off your Harefield lease extension. Holding off that expense now simply increases the price you will ultimately have to pay for a lease extension
It is generally considered that a residential leasehold with in excess of 100 years remaining is worth approximately the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to any lease with more than 30 years remaining, the premises will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years in the future.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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. |
| Lloyds TSB Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
| 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. |
Using our service gives you better control over the value of your Harefield leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in terms of lease length should you want to sell. The lawyers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
In the wake of 6 months of lengthy correspondence with the landlord of her ground floor flat in Harefield, Kirsty commenced the lease extension process as the 80 year deadline was quickly nearing. The legal work was finalised in July 2006. The landlord’s fees were restricted to approximately 550 GBP.
Last Spring we were approach by Dr P Rogers , who bought a first floor flat in Harefield in April 2010. We are asked if we could estimate the premium would be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Similar residencies in Harefield with 100 year plus lease were valued around £265,200. The average ground rent payable was £65 billed annually. The lease termination date was on 9 January 2090. Having 66 years outstanding we estimated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £15,200 and £17,600 not including expenses.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Harefield flat 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 was in relation to 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 71 years.