When it comes to residential leasehold property in Westbury Park, you are actually buying an entitlement 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 long period of time, you may think about 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 eighty years remaining. Residents in Westbury Park with a lease approaching 81 years unexpired should seriously think of extending it sooner than later. When a lease has fewer than 80 years remaining, under the current legislation the landlord is entitled to calculate and demand a larger amount, based on a technical multiplication, known as “marriage value” which is due.
Leasehold properties in Westbury Park with more than 100 years outstanding 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 purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges justify it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Bank of Scotland | 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. |
| 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. |
| Halifax | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
Engaging our service will provide you better control over the value of your Westbury Park leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in respect of lease length should you decide to sell. The lawyers that we work with have a in-depth market knowledge handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Harry owned a studio flat in Westbury Park on the market with a lease of a little over fifty eight years unexpired. Harry on an informal basis contacted his landlord a well known local-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord indicated a willingness to grant an extension taking the lease to 125 years subject to an increased rent to £125 per annum. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Harry to invoke his statutory right. Harry procured expert legal guidance and was able to make a more informed judgement and deal with the matter and ending up with a market value flat.
In 2013 we were contacted by Dr Omar Patel who, having purchased a basement flat in Westbury Park in January 1997. We are asked if we could estimate the price would be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Identical homes in Westbury Park with a long lease were worth £225,800. The average ground rent payable was £60 billed yearly. The lease came to a finish on 23 July 2086. Having 60 years left we approximated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £23,800 and £27,400 exclusive of fees.
In 2011 we were contacted by Mrs Rosie Walker who, having took over the lease of a ground floor apartment in Westbury Park in March 2002. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) compensation to the landlord would likely be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Similar residencies in Westbury Park with an extended lease were valued around £210,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £50 invoiced monthly. The lease came to a finish on 11 May 2106. Having 80 years outstanding we calculated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £8,600 and £9,800 not including legals.