Unfortunately that a West Ealing residential lease is a deteriorating asset. The lease value drops in proportion to its lease length. The extent of this is not fully appreciated in the first few years due to the reduction being disguised by increases in the West Ealing property market.Once your lease nears 85ish years, you need to start thinking about a lease extension. If lease term falls under eighty years, you will then be required to pay half of the property's 'marriage value' in addition to the usual cost of the lease extension to the landlord. Marriage value is the amount of extra value that a lease extension will add the property Most flat owners in West Ealing will be able to extend under the legislation; however a conveyancing solicitor will be able to confirm if you qualify for an extension. In some cases you may not qualify. There are also strict timetables and procedures to follow once the process is initiated and you will need to be guided by your conveyancing solicitor for the duration of the process.
It is generally considered that a property with in excess of one hundred years remaining is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further 90 years added to all but the shortest lease, the property will be worth the same as a freehold for many years ahead.
| 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. |
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Chelsea 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. |
| 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 gives you enhanced control over the value of your West Ealing 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 are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Last Christmas Sebastian, started to get near to the eighty-year threshold with the lease on his purpose- built apartment in West Ealing. Having bought his property 19 years previously, the lease term was of no importance. Luckily, he became aware that he needed to take action soon on a lease extension. Sebastian arranged for a lease extension just in the nick of time in September. Sebastian and the landlord ultimately settled on a premium of £5,500 . If the lease had slipped below 80 years, the price would have increased by a minimum £950.
Last Christmas we were e-mailed by Dr S Brown , who was assigned a lease of a one bedroom flat in West Ealing in May 1997. The question was if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would likely be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Identical premises in West Ealing with a long lease were in the region of £191,400. The average ground rent payable was £55 collected yearly. The lease ended on 3 April 2080. Taking into account 54 years unexpired we approximated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £34,200 and £39,600 exclusive of legals.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a West Ealing property is 6 Jessamine Road in August 2013. The Tribunals valuation (as annexed to the decision) calculated the amount payable as £18,355 for the freehold reversion This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 72.39 years.