Stop! Your Lease Extension in Trimdon Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Trimdon 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 Trimdon 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.

Why you should commence your Trimdon lease extension


Why you should commence your Trimdon lease extension today:

A Trimdon lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

Trimdon leases on residential properties are gradually decreasing in value. The shorter the remaining lease term becomes, the less it is worth – and accordingly any extension of your lease gets more expensive. It is the case that most Trimdon tenants have the right to extend their lease by an additional 90 years under the 1993 Leasehold Reform Act. Where you are a leasehold owner in Trimdon you would be well advised to check if your lease has between 70 and ninety years left. There are compelling reasons why a Trimdon flat owner with a lease having around eighty years unexpired should take steps to ensure that a lease extension is put in place without delay

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

It is conventional wisdom that a residential leasehold with in excess of one hundred years unexpired lease term is worth approximately the same as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to any lease with more than 30 years left, the residence will be worth the same as a freehold for decades to come.

Banks and Building Societies may not lend with a short lease

Lenders do not like short residential leases. You most probably experience problems where you need to sell your flat in Trimdon if the unexpired term of your lease is below the criteria set by the majority of mortgage companies. Different lenders have varying requirements but on the whole theyrequire an unexpired term of at least seventy years.

Lender Requirement
Bank of Scotland 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.
Nationwide Building Society - Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years.
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).

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
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.

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 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- 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 is 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 55 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% 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 (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- 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 (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- 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 charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis

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% 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 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.
TSB Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption.
Virgin 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.

Why use us for your lease extension in Trimdon?

Using our service will provide you enhanced control over the value of your Trimdon leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in terms of lease length should you decide to sell. The lawyers that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Trimdon Lease Extension Case Studies:

Alexander, Trimdon, County Durham,

Alexander owned a high value apartment in Trimdon being sold with a lease of fraction over sixty years left. Alexander on an informal basis approached his landlord being a well known London-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord was prepared to agree an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years subject to a rise in the rent to £200 yearly. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Alexander to exercise his statutory right. Alexander obtained expert legal guidance and was able to make an informed decision and handle with the matter and ending up with a market value flat.

Trimdon case:

Last month we were approach by Dr Ali Jones , who was assigned a lease of a garden apartment in Trimdon in June 2010. We are asked if we could estimate the premium could be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Comparative premises in Trimdon with an extended lease were in the region of £275,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £55 collected monthly. The lease lapsed on 13 October 2102. Taking into account 76 years outstanding we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £9,500 and £11,000 exclusive of fees.

Trimdon case:

In 2013 we were approached by Mrs Alexandra Fournier who, having moved into a studio flat in Trimdon in January 1995. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) compensation to the landlord would be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Comparable flats in Trimdon with 100 year plus lease were valued about £176,200. The mid-range ground rent payable was £65 invoiced yearly. The lease terminated on 13 September 2082. Having 56 years remaining we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £29,500 and £34,000 not including expenses.