With a long leasehold premises in Barnet, you effectively rent it for a certain period of time. In recent years flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Many leasehold owners are unconcerned as this seems like a lengthy period of time, you may consider extending the lease sooner rather than later. Accepted thinking is that the shorter the number of years is the cost of extending the lease increases markedly particularly once there are less than 80 years remaining. Residents in Barnet with a lease drawing near to 81 years remaining should seriously consider extending it without delay. Once the lease term has under eighty years outstanding, under the relevant Act the freeholder can calculate and charge a larger premium, based on a technical multiplication, known as “marriage value” which is due.
Leasehold premises in Barnet with more than 100 years remaining on the lease are sometimes referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges justify it.
| 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. |
| Barnsley Building Society | 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term. |
| 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. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Barnet,the lease extension lawyers that we work with will always be willing to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with Barnet valuers.
Following lengthy correspondence with the freeholder of her garden apartment in Barnet, Samantha commenced the lease extension process as the eighty year mark was quickly approaching. The legal work completed in March 2007. The freeholder’s fees were restricted to approximately five hundred GBP.
In 2013 we were called by Ms P Richardson who, having completed a first floor flat in Barnet in March 1997. The question was if we could estimate the premium could be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Comparable properties in Barnet with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £216,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 invoiced per annum. The lease terminated on 23 August 2083. Considering the 58 years left we estimated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £28,500 and £33,000 plus costs.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Barnet flat is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 76 years.