Owning a apartment usually means owning a lease of the property, this is a ‘time-limited’ interest becoming shorter every day. This lease will normally be granted for a prescribed period of time , ordinarily 99 or 125 years, although we have witnessed longer and shorter terms in Huntingdon. Clearly, the period of lease left reduces over time. This is often overlooked and only raises itself as an issue when the property has to be disposed of or re-mortgaged. The fewer the years remaining the less it is worth and the more it will cost to obtain a lease extension. Eligible long lease owners in Huntingdon have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for an additional 90 years in accordance with statute. You should give due consideration before delaying your Huntingdon lease extension. Putting off that expense now only increases the price you will eventually have to pay for a lease extension
It is generally considered that a property with in excess of one hundred years unexpired lease term is worth approximately the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to any lease with more than 35 years unexpired, the residence will be worth the same as a freehold for many years ahead.
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
The lawyers that we work with handle Huntingdon 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 conveyancer we work with provide it.
Thomas owned a conversion flat in Huntingdon on the market with a lease of just over fifty eight years unexpired. Thomas informally contacted his freeholder a well known Manchester-based freehold company for a lease extension. The freeholder was prepared to agree an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years subject to a new rent initially set at £200 per annum and doubled every 25 years thereafter. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Thomas to invoke his statutory right. Thomas obtained expert advice and secured satisfactory deal without resorting to tribunal and readily saleable.
Mrs S Anderson moved into a ground floor flat in Huntingdon in May 1999. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord could be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Similar premises in Huntingdon with 100 year plus lease were worth £280,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £45 collected quarterly. The lease lapsed in 2096. Taking into account 70 years left we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 not including expenses.
Last Christmas we were e-mailed by Mr W Young , who completed a ground floor apartment in Huntingdon in July 2010. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium would likely be for a ninety year lease extension. Identical properties in Huntingdon with 100 year plus lease were valued around £223,400. The mid-range ground rent payable was £60 collected monthly. The lease elapsed on 26 July 2085. Considering the 59 years outstanding we approximated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £27,600 and £31,800 exclusive of expenses.