With a domestic leasehold premises in St Neots, you are actually buying 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. Even though this may appear like a lengthy period of time, you should consider extending the lease sooner as opposed to later. The general rule is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease gets disproportionately greater notably once there are less than eighty years left. Residents in St Neots with a lease drawing near to 81 years left should seriously think of extending it as soon as possible. When the lease term has under 80 years outstanding, under the relevant Act the freeholder can calculate and levy a greater premium, assessed on a technical multiplication, known as “marriage value” which is payable.
Leasehold premises in St Neots with in excess of one hundred years left 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 buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and estate charges merit it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| Leeds Building Society | 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must be at least 30 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset of the mortgage. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
| Yorkshire 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. |
Using our service will provide you increased control over the value of your St Neots leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in terms of lease length should you want to sell. The conveyancers that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Jasper owned a high value apartment in St Neots on the market with a lease of just over 72 years outstanding. Jasper on an informal basis spoke with his freeholder a well known Manchester-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder 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. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Jasper to invoke his statutory right. Jasper procured expert legal guidance and was able to make an informed decision and handle with the matter and readily saleable.
Mr and Mrs. V Harris acquired a one bedroom apartment in St Neots in March 1998. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) compensation to the landlord would be for a ninety year lease extension. Identical premises in St Neots with an extended lease were valued around £275,000. The average ground rent payable was £55 collected monthly. The lease came to a finish on 12 February 2102. Given that there were 76 years remaining we approximated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £9,500 and £11,000 not including expenses.
Mrs Kayleigh Morel bought a one bedroom flat in St Neots in August 2003. The question was if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Identical premises in St Neots with 100 year plus lease were valued about £176,200. The average amount of ground rent was £65 collected monthly. The lease lapsed in 2082. Given that there were 56 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £29,500 and £34,000 exclusive of legals.