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Main reasons to commence your Raynes Park lease extension


Main reasons to start your Raynes Park lease extension today:

A Raynes Park leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

Unfortunately that a Raynes 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 Raynes Park property prices.Once your lease gets to 85ish years, you should 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 slips under eighty years - otherwise a higher premium will be due. Most leasehold owners in Raynes Park will be able to extend under the legislation; however a lawyer should be able to clarify whether you are eligibility. In some cases you may not be entitled. There are also strict deadlines and procedures to follow once the process has commenced and you will need to be guided by your lawyer for the duration of the formalities.

Raynes Park property with a lease extension is almost the same value as a freehold

Leasehold premises in Raynes Park with more than 100 years remaining on the lease are sometimes regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such circumstances there is often little to be gained by buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges merit it.

Banks and Building Societies will not finance a property on a short lease

Whether or not the lease is be regarded as a short lease varies by mortgage company, yet mortgage lenders start to become concerned at around 75 years. This will cause difficulties when you need to sell or remortgage your flat as it will be effectively unmortgageable. You might not have an imminent plan to sell but when you do your purchaser must wait 2 years before they can exercise the right to a an extension to the lease.

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.
National Westminster Bank Mortgage term plus 30 years.
TSB Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption.
The Mortgage Works Minimum unexpired lease term is 70 years with 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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

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 70 years
- 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 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 70 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 1.0% 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
- 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
- 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 reviewed and altered on any review basis or methodology

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 1.0% 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 the 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.

Why use us for your lease extension in Raynes Park?

The conveyancers that we work with handle Raynes 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 lawyer we work with provide it.

Raynes Park Lease Extension Example Cases:

Erin, Raynes Park, South West London,

Subsequent to lengthy discussions with the landlord of her one bedroom flat in Raynes Park, Erin initiated the lease extension process as the eighty year mark was quickly approaching. The lease extension completed in September 2013. The landlord’s charges were kept to an absolute minimum.

Raynes Park case:

Mr O Kelly was assigned a lease of a one bedroom apartment in Raynes Park in October 2010. We are asked if we could approximate the price could be to extend the lease by 90 years. Identical premises in Raynes Park with 100 year plus lease were worth £174,200. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £55 collected annually. The lease expired in 2076. Having 51 years remaining we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £31,400 and £36,200 plus costs.

Decision in Sutton

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Raynes Park premises is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 60.43 years.