With a long leasehold premises in Orpington, you are actually purchasing a right to live in a property for a set period of time. These days flat leases typically tend to be for 99 years or 125. Many leasehold owners are unconcerned as this seems like a long period of time, you may consider a lease extension sooner rather than later. The general rule is that the shorter the number of years is the cost of extending the lease becomes disproportionately more expensive particularly when there are less than eighty years left. Leasehold owners in Orpington with a lease nearing 81 years left should seriously think of extending it as soon as possible. Once the lease term has below 80 years left, under the relevant legislation the freeholder can calculate and demand a greater amount, assessed on a technical multiplication, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is payable.
Leasehold residencies in Orpington with in excess of one hundred years remaining on the lease are often regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such situations there is often little upside in purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and estate charges merit it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Bank of Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Barnsley Building Society | 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term. |
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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 |
| TSB | Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption. |
Retaining our service will provide you increased control over the value of your Orpington leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in terms of lease length should you wish to sell. The conveyancers that we work with have a in-depth market knowledge handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Owen owned a conversion flat in Orpington being sold with a lease of a few days over 59 years unexpired. Owen informally spoke with his landlord a well known Bristol-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord was keen to give an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a rise in the rent to £200 yearly. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Owen to invoke his statutory right. Owen procured expert advice and secured satisfactory resolution without resorting to tribunal and sell the flat.
Last Spring we were phoned by Dr Aarav Hernández , who purchased a garden apartment in Orpington in November 2007. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) compensation to the landlord could be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Similar residencies in Orpington with a long lease were in the region of £295,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £50 billed annually. The lease came to a finish in 2101. Taking into account 75 years unexpired we estimated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional charges.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Orpington residence is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 50.57 years.