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Main reasons to commence your Manchester lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Manchester lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Manchester property value

The nearer a domestic lease in Manchester nears to zero years unexpired, the the greater the reduction in the value of the property. If the lease has, more than 99 years remaining then this decrease may be fractional however there will become a point in time when a lease has less than eighty years remaining as part of the premium you will incur is what is termed as a marriage value. This could be significant. It is the primary logic behind why you should extend the lease without delay. Many flat owners in Manchester will qualify for this right; that being said a conveyancer can advise if you are eligible for a lease extension. In limited situations you may not qualify, the most frequent reason being that you have owned the property for less than two years.

Manchester property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold

It is generally considered that a residential leasehold with in excess of one hundred years remaining is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to any lease with more than 35 years left, the residence will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years in the future.

Lenders may decide not to loan monies with a short lease

The propensity since the credit crunch has been for mortgage companies to tighten lending criteria across the board - this has extended to the property over which the mortgage is to be granted. This has meant the minimum number of years remaining under the lease required by banks has increased. In the past lenders would grant a mortgage on a lease with 25 years plus the term of the loan - routinely 50 year leases but those requirements evolved by the requirement for longer and longer leases - many now have a minimum term of 75 years as standard.

Lender Requirement
Barnsley Building Society 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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.
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.
Skipton Building Society 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage

For Buy to Let cases:
- lettings must not breach any of the lessee’s covenants; and
- consent of the lessor to lettings must be obtained if necessary
Virgin 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.

What makes us experts in Manchester lease extensions?

The lawyers that we work with procure Manchester 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.

Manchester Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Tyler, Manchester, Greater Manchester

In recent months Tyler, started to get near to the eighty-year threshold with the lease on his garden flat in Manchester. In buying his home two decades ago, the unexpired term was of no importance. Luckily, he realised he needed to take action soon on Extending the lease. Tyler was able to extend his lease just ahead of time in August. Tyler and the freeholder via the management company eventually agreed on a premium of £6,000 . If the lease had gone lower than 80 years, the figure would have gone up by at least £1,100.

Manchester case:

Mr and Mrs. P Cox took over the lease of a one bedroom apartment in Manchester in August 1996. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would be for a 90 year lease extension. Comparative residencies in Manchester with a long lease were in the region of £225,400. The average ground rent payable was £45 invoiced annually. The lease ended on 10 November 2089. Taking into account 64 years as a residual term we estimated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £15,200 and £17,600 plus professional charges.

Manchester case:

Mr L Hall purchased a ground floor apartment in Manchester in March 2007. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord could be to extend the lease by an additional years. Identical homes in Manchester with a long lease were in the region of £270,000. The average ground rent payable was £55 invoiced yearly. The lease terminated on 21 May 2100. Considering the 75 years left we approximated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £9,500 and £11,000 exclusive of professional charges.