Stop! Your Lease Extension in Kelsall Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Kelsall 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 Kelsall 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 Kelsall lease extension


Top reasons for lease extension now:

Increase your lease and increase your Kelsall property value

As the length of the unexpired term of a Kelsall domestic lease lessens so does its value and therefore the value of your property. If the residual term has, over 125 years remaining then this decrease may be of little impact that being said there will become a stage when a lease has under than eighty years unexpired as part of the premium you will incur is what is termed as a marriage value. This could be significant. It is the primary rational as to why you should extend the lease without delay. The majority of flat owners in Kelsall will meet the qualifying criteria; nevertheless a conveyancer can advise whether you are eligible for a lease extension. In certain situations you may not qualify, the most common reason being that you have not been the owner of the property for two years.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

It is conventional wisdom that a property with in excess of one hundred years remaining is worth approximately the same as a freehold. Where an further ninety years added to any lease with more than 35 years left, the residence will be equivalent in value to a freehold for decades to come.

Lenders will not issue a mortgage with a short lease

Most banks have constrained their lending criteria in recent years and borrowers are encountering difficulties in arranging funding or re-mortgage against flats with shorter lease terms, particularly under 75 years as they are considered to be unacceptable for lending purposes.

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.
Barnsley Building Society 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
Lloyds TSB Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Nationwide Building Society - Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years.
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).

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
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.

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 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- 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 is 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 55 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% 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 (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- 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 (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- 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 charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis

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% 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 you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to Issuing Office.

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.
Royal Bank of Scotland Mortgage term plus 30 years.

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

Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Kelsall,the lease extension experts that we work with will always be willing to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with Kelsall valuers.

Kelsall Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Nathaniel, Kelsall, Cheshire

18 months ago Nathaniel, started to get close to the 80-year threshold with the lease on his purpose- built flat in Kelsall. In buying his flat two decades ago, the length of the lease was of little importance. Fortunately, he became aware that he needed to take steps soon on Extending the lease. Nathaniel was able to extend his lease just in the nick of time in July. Nathaniel and the freeholder subsequently settled on sum of £6,000 . If the lease had slipped lower than 80 years, the premium would have increased by a minimum £1,100.

Kelsall case:

Mr and Mrs. F Garcia bought a one bedroom apartment in Kelsall in July 2009. The dilemma was if we could estimate the premium would likely be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparable properties in Kelsall with 100 year plus lease were worth £257,800. The average ground rent payable was £65 billed every twelve months. The lease ended on 13 January 2091. Given that there were 65 years unexpired we calculated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £17,100 and £19,800 plus legals.

Kelsall case:

In 2009 we were approached by Mrs Robyn Wilson who, having owned a ground floor flat in Kelsall in September 2002. We are asked if we could estimate the premium would be to prolong the lease by an additional years. Comparable properties in Kelsall with 100 year plus lease were valued around £196,400. The mid-range ground rent payable was £55 billed monthly. The lease termination date was in 2080. Taking into account 54 years as a residual term we estimated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £34,200 and £39,600 plus legals.