For those whose Weymouth flat is held on a long lease, the message is clear – if you ignore the situation, your property will ultimately revert to your landlord, leaving you empty-handed. The shorter the lease the lower the value of the property and the more it will cost to extend the lease.
Leasehold properties in Weymouth with more than one hundred years outstanding on the lease are often regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such situations there is often little to be gained by buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and estate charges warrant it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Barnsley Building Society | 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term. |
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
The conveyancing solicitors that we work with handle Weymouth 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 conveyancing solicitor we work with provide it.
Following protracted negotiations with the freeholder of her basement apartment in Weymouth, Emily initiated the lease extension process just as the lease was coming close to the critical 80-year mark. The transaction was finalised in February 2005. The landlord’s costs were negotiated to about 550 GBP.
In 2012 we were approached by Dr Harvey Sharif who, having moved into a ground floor apartment in Weymouth in May 1995. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord would likely be to extend the lease by 90 years. Comparable premises in Weymouth with 100 year plus lease were valued around £218,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £45 invoiced per annum. The lease elapsed on 26 April 2088. Taking into account 63 years remaining we approximated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £17,100 and £19,800 exclusive of legals.
Last Autumn we were phoned by Mr and Mrs. K Cooper , who moved into a purpose-built apartment in Weymouth in July 1995. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Identical residencies in Weymouth with an extended lease were valued around £265,000. The average amount of ground rent was £55 invoiced monthly. The lease expired in 2099. Given that there were 74 years left we calculated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional charges.