Kingston upon Thames Lease Extension - Free Consultation

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Main reasons to commence your Kingston upon Thames lease extension


Why you should commence your Kingston upon Thames lease extension today:

A Kingston upon Thames leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

It’s an underpublicised certainty that a Kingston upon Thames residential lease is a deteriorating asset. The lease value drops in proportion to its lease length. The extent of this is not fully appreciated in the first few years due to the depreciation being disguised by increases in the Kingston upon Thames property market.Once your lease gets to 85ish years, you should start thinking about a lease extension. If lease term slips below 80 years, you will then be required to pay 50% of the property's 'marriage value' on top of the usual cost of the lease extension to the landlord. Marriage value is the amount of additional value that a lease extension will add the property Most flat owners in Kingston upon Thames will be able to extend under the legislation; however a lawyer will be able to clarify whether you are eligibility. In some situations you may not be entitled. There are also strict timeframes and procedures to follow once the process has commenced and you will need to be guided by your conveyancer throughout the process.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

Leasehold premises in Kingston upon Thames with in excess of one hundred years outstanding on the lease are sometimes referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such situations there is often little to be gained by buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges merit it.

Mortgage lenders may decide not to issue a mortgage on a short lease

Banks and building societies are distinct in their lending criteria. Some set the bar at 75 years remaining on the lease; others may be content with anything with more than seventy years. Below sixty years, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage in the first place.

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.
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.
Virgin 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.
Yorkshire 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.

Get in touch with one of our Kingston upon Thames lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

Retaining our service will provide you better control over the value of your Kingston upon Thames leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in respect of lease length should you wish to sell. The lawyers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Kingston upon Thames Lease Extension Example Cases:

Stanley, Kingston upon Thames, South West London,

Stanley owned a conversion apartment in Kingston upon Thames on the market with a lease of a few days over 61 years remaining. Stanley on an informal basis spoke with his freeholder being a well known Manchester-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder indicated a willingness to extend the lease to 125 years subject to a new rent to start with set at £150 per annum and doubled every 25 years thereafter. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be due on a lease extension were Stanley to invoke his statutory right. Stanley procured expert legal guidance and secured an acceptable resolution informally and sell the flat.

Kingston upon Thames case:

Mr A Brooks completed a newly refurbished apartment in Kingston upon Thames in October 2005. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Comparable flats in Kingston upon Thames with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £200,800. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £65 invoiced per annum. The lease expired on 5 October 2084. Having 60 years outstanding we approximated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £20,900 and £24,200 not including professional charges.

Decision in Kingston upon Thames

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Kingston upon Thames flat is Flat D 15 Claremont Gardens in September 2013. TheTribunal determined in accordance with section48 and Schedule13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty seven pounds (£14,187.00) This case was in relation to 1 flat.