Marshalls Park Lease Extension - Free Consultation

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Why you should start your Marshalls Park lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Marshalls Park lease extension today:

A Marshalls Park lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

Unfortunately that a Marshalls Park residential lease is a deteriorating asset. As the lease term reduces so does the value of the property. The extent of this is not fully appreciated in the early years due to the deflation being disguised by increases in the Marshalls Park property prices.Where your lease has approximately 90 years left, you need to start considering a lease extension. An important point to note is that it is desirable for lease extension to take place before the term of the existing lease dips below 80 years - otherwise a higher amount will be due. The majority of leasehold owners in Marshalls Park will be able to extend under the legislation; however a conveyancing solicitor should be able to confirm if you qualify for an extension. In some situations you may not be entitled. There are also strict timeframes and procedures to be adhered to once the process is instigated and you will need to be guided by your lawyer from beginning to end of the process.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

It is generally considered that a property with over 100 years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the residence will be worth the same as a freehold for many years ahead.

Banks and Building Societies will not loan monies with a short lease

Most mortgage lenders have constrained their lending criteria in recent years and borrowers are finding it increasingly difficult to raise finance or re-mortgage against property with shorter lease terms, particularly below 75 years as they are considered to be deficient 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.
Birmingham Midshires Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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.
National Westminster Bank Mortgage term plus 30 years.
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.

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

The conveyancers that we work with procure Marshalls Park 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 conveyancing solicitor we work with provide it.

Marshalls Park Lease Extension Case Studies:

Eliot, Marshalls Park, London,

Eliot owned a 2 bedroom flat in Marshalls Park being marketed with a lease of just over 72 years outstanding. Eliot informally contacted his landlord a well known Bristol-based freehold company for a lease extension. The landlord was keen to grant an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years subject to a rise in the rent to £125 per annum. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be payable on a lease extension were Eliot to exercise his statutory right. Eliot obtained expert legal guidance and was able to make a more informed decision and deal with the matter and ending up with a market value flat.

Marshalls Park case:

Ms Hannah Roberts bought a basement flat in Marshalls Park in November 1996. The dilemma was if we could approximate the premium would be to prolong the lease by an additional years. Similar premises in Marshalls Park with a long lease were worth £267,600. The average ground rent payable was £65 billed yearly. The lease expired on 13 July 2092. Considering the 67 years unexpired we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £14,300 and £16,400 plus fees.

Marshalls Park case:

In 2011 we were contacted by Ms I Hill who, having moved into a ground floor apartment in Marshalls Park in November 1995. The dilemma was if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would likely be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Identical flats in Marshalls Park with an extended lease were worth £206,200. The mid-range ground rent payable was £60 billed quarterly. The lease concluded in 2081. Considering the 56 years left we estimated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £31,400 and £36,200 not including professional charges.