With a residential leasehold premises in South Woodford, you are actually buying a right to reside in a property for a set period of time. These days flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Even though this may appear like a lengthy period of time, you may consider extending the lease sooner rather than later. The general rule is that the shorter the number of years is the cost of extending the lease increases markedly notably once there are less than 80 years remaining. Anyone in South Woodford with a lease approaching 81 years remaining should seriously consider extending it as soon as possible. When the lease term has under 80 years remaining, under the relevant statute the freeholder can calculate and charge a greater amount, assessed on a technical computation, known as “marriage value” which is due.
Leasehold properties in South Woodford with over one hundred years unexpired on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such situations there is often little upside in buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges warrant 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. |
| 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. |
| Leeds Building Society | 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage. |
Engaging our service will provide you better control over the value of your South Woodford leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in terms of lease length should you decide to sell. The conveyancers that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
After protracted correspondence with the freeholder of her purpose-built apartment in South Woodford, Emma started the lease extension process just as her lease was coming close to the crucial eighty-year deadline. The lease extension was finalised in November 2013. The freeholder’s costs were kept to an absolute minimum.
Mrs A Ramírez acquired a studio flat in South Woodford in September 2007. The question was if we could estimate the premium could be to extend the lease by an additional years. Identical properties in South Woodford with an extended lease were valued about £176,200. The mid-range ground rent payable was £65 collected every twelve months. The lease concluded in 2082. Given that there were 56 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £29,500 and £34,000 exclusive of fees.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a South Woodford flat is 135 Maybank Road in January 2013. The Tribunal determined that the price to be paid by the tenants for the grant of a new lease is £10,592 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 71.2 years.