Owning a apartment usually means owning a lease of the property, which has a set term of years. The lease will usually be granted for a set period of time , usually 99 or 125 years, although we have come across longer and shorter terms in Winterbourne. Clearly, the length of lease left shortens over time. This may slip by relatively unnoticed when the flat or house has to be sold or re-mortgaged. The fewer the years remaining the lower the value of the property and the more expensive it will be to extend the lease. Eligible long lease owners in Winterbourne have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for an additional 90 years in accordance with Leasehold Reform legislation. Please give careful deliberation before putting off your Winterbourne lease extension. Holding off the cost now simply increases the price you will eventually have to pay to extend your lease
Leasehold premises in Winterbourne with in excess of 100 years remaining on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such situations there is often little upside in buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges warrant it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Bank of Scotland | |
| Barnsley Building Society | |
| Chelsea Building Society | |
| National Westminster Bank | |
| Virgin |
Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Winterbourne,the lease extension solicitors that we work with will always be happy to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their experience and the close ties they enjoy with Winterbourne valuers.
Hugo was the the leasehold owner of a studio apartment in Winterbourne on the market with a lease of just over 61 years unexpired. Hugo informally contacted his freeholder being a well known London-based freehold company for a lease extension. The freeholder indicated a willingness to extend the lease to 125 years subject to a new rent initially set at £200 per annum and increase every twenty five years thereafter. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be due on a lease extension were Hugo to exercise his statutory right. Hugo obtained 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.
Mr and Mrs. E Vincent took over the lease of a one bedroom flat in Winterbourne in October 2010. The question was if we could estimate the price would likely be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Similar flats in Winterbourne with 100 year plus lease were valued around £206,200. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £55 billed annually. The lease expiry date was in 2082. Having 56 years left we approximated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £31,400 and £36,200 exclusive of expenses.
In 2009 we were phoned by Dr D Gray who, having purchased a ground floor flat in Winterbourne in January 2003. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord could be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Identical homes in Winterbourne with a long lease were worth £300,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £50 collected quarterly. The lease terminated on 3 March 2102. Given that there were 76 years outstanding we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £8,600 and £9,800 not including expenses.