If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Herne Hill 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 Herne Hill lease extension today:
Increase your lease and increase your Herne Hill property value
Herne Hill leases on residential properties are gradually losing value. Where your lease has approximately 90 years left, you should start considering the need for a lease extension. If lease term is less than eighty years, you will then be required to pay 50% of the property's 'marriage value' in addition to the standard cost of the lease extension to the landlord. Marriage value is the amount of additional value that a lease extension will add to the property. Flat owners in Herne Hill will usually be legally entitled to a lease extension; however It would be wise to check with a lawyer to check if you qualify. In certain situations you may not qualify. There are also strict timetables and procedures to comply with once the process is initiated so it’s prudent to be guided by a conveyancer during the process.
Herne Hill property with a lease extension is almost the same value as a freehold
Leasehold premises in Herne Hill with more than one hundred years unexpired on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such circumstances there is often little upside in purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and service charges warrant it.
Banks and Building Societies will not grant a mortgage with a short lease
Lenders will not grant a mortgage on short residential leases. You are likely to experience problems if you need to sell your flat in Herne Hill if the remaining term of your lease is under the criteria set by most banks and building societies. Different lenders have different criteria but generally they are looking for an unexpired term of at least seventy years.
| Lender |
Requirement
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| Barnsley Building Society |
60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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| Halifax |
Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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| Leeds Building Society |
85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.
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| Santander |
If the property is leasehold, the remaining unexpired lease term at the end of the new mortgage term must be at least 50 years where any part of the mortgage is on Interest Only and 30 years if all loan parts are on Capital Repayment and Interest. 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.
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.
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| The Mortgage Works |
Minimum unexpired lease term is 70 years with 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:
Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.
SECOND HAND PROPERTIES
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 70 years
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period less than or equal to 5 years
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 70 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1.0% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI
NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house
- Any lease which is subject to a ground rent (or annual rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a ground rent (or annual rent) being reviewed and altered on any review basis or methodology
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1.0% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn ground rent (annual rent) charges
For the avoidance of doubt, any new build properties completed but not sold pre 30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the lease conforms to the above guidance
* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years
Lease Extensions We require all Lease Extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where a proposed Lease Extension does not meet these requirements, however you feel that this is in the best interest for our mutual client, please refer all details to the Issuing Office for us to consider.
Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.
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What makes us experts in Herne Hill lease extensions?
Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Herne Hill,the lease extension lawyers that we work with will always be willing to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their experience and the close ties they enjoy with Herne Hill valuers.
Herne Hill Lease Extension Case Summaries:
Isabella, Herne Hill, South East London,
Subsequent to protracted negotiations with the freeholder of her studio flat in Herne Hill, Isabella initiated the lease extension process just as her lease was approaching the critical 80-year threshold. The legal work completed in November 2006. The landlord’s charges were kept to an absolute minimum.
Herne Hill case:
Mrs J Roux took over the lease of a studio apartment in Herne Hill in April 2003. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would likely be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Comparable flats in Herne Hill with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £210,000. The average amount of ground rent was £50 collected yearly. The lease came to a finish on 22 July 2106. Having 80 years remaining we calculated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £8,600 and £9,800 not including professional charges.
Decision in Lambeth
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Herne Hill property is
66 Southwell Road in March 2012. By Order of Deputy District Judge Stone dated 25 January 2012 a vesting order was made. The determination of the purchase price was referred to the Tribunal who decided that the amount payable for the freehold should be£29,612.00
This case was in relation to 3 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72.58 years.