Woburn 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 becomes more expensive. Legislation has been in place for sometime now allowing qualifying Woburn residential leaseholders to extend the terms of long leases. If you are a leasehold owner in Woburn you would be well advised to see if your lease has between seventy and 90 years left. There are good reasons why a Woburn leaseholder with a lease having around eighty years left should take action to make sure that a lease extension is actioned without delay
Leasehold properties in Woburn with over 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 premises. In such situations there is often little upside in buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and service charges warrant it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Birmingham Midshires | 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. |
| Leeds Building Society | 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage. |
| 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 Woburn 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 lawyer we work with provide it.
Subsequent to unsuccessful discussions with the freeholder of her one bedroom flat in Woburn, Charlotte initiated the lease extension process just as the lease was coming close to the critical eighty-year deadline. The lease extension was finalised in April 2014. The freeholder’s costs were restricted to less than 550 pounds.
In 2013 we were called by Ms Katherine Roux who, having moved into a recently refurbished flat in Woburn in March 2007. We are asked if we could approximate the premium would likely be for a 90 year lease extension. Comparable homes in Woburn with a long lease were valued around £166,800. The average ground rent payable was £50 invoiced yearly. The lease came to a finish in 2076. Considering the 50 years unexpired we approximated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £32,300 and £37,400 not including fees.
Last Autumn we were called by Ms Isabelle Green , who took over the lease of a newly refurbished flat in Woburn in July 1997. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) price could be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Similar flats in Woburn with an extended lease were in the region of £280,000. The average amount of ground rent was £45 collected every twelve months. The lease came to a finish in 2096. Given that there were 70 years outstanding we approximated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £12,400 and £14,200 not including legals.