Stop! Your Lease Extension in Thornaby Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Thornaby are unaware that their original lawyer had a duty to warn them about future mortgageability and saleability issues. Before you pay thousands to your freeholder, let us audit your purchase history. You might have a claim that pays for your lease extension in full

If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Thornaby has dropped toward the 80-year mark, your previous lawyer may be at fault. Our panel of experts specialise in recovering lease extension costs from negligent firms who failed to protect your investment.

Top reasons for Thornaby lease extension


Why you should commence your Thornaby lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Thornaby property value

The re-sale value of a leasehold property in Thornaby depends on how long the lease has left to run. If it is close to or less than eighty years you should anticipate difficulties on re-sale, so it is advisable to arrange for a lease extension ahead of purchasing. It is ideal to start the process of extending the lease is when the lease still has 82 years to run so that all matters can be addressed ahead of the 80 year mark. Current legislation enables Thornaby qualifying lessees to a ninety year extension added to their unexpired lease term (ie if your lease has 50 years remaining the statutory lease extension will provide a new term of 140 years). The purpose of the valuation is to arrive at an opinion of the amount payable by the lessee to the freeholder for the purchase of the lease extension.

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

It is conventional wisdom that a residential leasehold with over 100 years remaining is worth approximately the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further 90 years added to any lease with more than 30 years remaining, the residence will be worth the same as a freehold for many years ahead.

Lenders may not lend on a short lease

Lending institutions are less likely to grant a mortgage on a residential property in Thornaby with a short lease. Many lenders simply refuse a mortgage on leases with less than 75 years left.

Lender Requirement
Bank of Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Santander You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if:
1. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is between 55 and 82 years, but the actual unexpired term differs by more than one year (whether longer or shorter); or
2. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is more than 82 years but the actual unexpired term is less than 82 years; or
3. no valuation report is provided
However, we will not accept a lease where on expiry of the mortgage:
(i) less than 50 years remain and all or part of the loan is repaid on an interest-only basis: or
(ii) less than 30 years remain and the loan is repaid on a capital and interest basis

We will accept a lease that has been extended under the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 provided statutory compensation would be available to the leaseholder.
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.
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.

What makes us experts in Thornaby lease extensions?

The lawyers that we work with procure Thornaby 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.

Thornaby Lease Extension Example Cases:

Leo, Thornaby, County Durham,

Leo was the the leasehold proprietor of a 2 bedroom apartment in Thornaby being marketed with a lease of a little over 59 years unexpired. Leo on an informal basis contacted his freeholder being a well known London-based freehold company for a lease extension. The freeholder was keen to give an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent at the outset set at £150 per annum and increase every 25 years thereafter. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Leo to exercise his statutory right. Leo obtained expert advice and secured an acceptable deal without resorting to tribunal and sell the flat.

Thornaby case:

Ms Catherine Nelson bought a first floor apartment in Thornaby in September 1996. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord would likely be to prolong the lease by an additional years. Identical homes in Thornaby with 100 year plus lease were valued around £225,400. The mid-range ground rent payable was £45 collected every twelve months. The lease finished in 2090. Having 64 years remaining we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £16,200 and £18,600 not including costs.

Thornaby case:

Last month we were phoned by Dr E Smith , who owned a basement apartment in Thornaby in April 2004. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium could be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparative flats in Thornaby with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £270,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £55 invoiced yearly. The lease ran out in 2101. Taking into account 75 years outstanding we calculated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £9,500 and £11,000 not including expenses.