With a residential leasehold premises in Barnet, you are in fact renting it for a certain period of time. Modern flat leases typically tend to be for 99 years or 125. Many leasehold owners become complacent as this seems like a lengthy period of time, you should think about a lease extension sooner as opposed to later. The general rule is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease increases markedly notably when there are fewer than eighty years remaining. Anyone in Barnet with a lease drawing near to 81 years unexpired should seriously think of extending it sooner rather than later. Once a lease has under eighty years left, under the current Act the freeholder can calculate and demand a larger amount, assessed on a technical multiplication, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is due.
Leasehold premises in Barnet with over 100 years outstanding 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 maintenance 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. |
| Lloyds TSB Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Santander | You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if: 1. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is between 55 and 82 years, but the actual unexpired term differs by more than one year (whether longer or shorter); or 2. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is more than 82 years but the actual unexpired term is less than 82 years; or 3. no valuation report is provided However, we will not accept a lease where on expiry of the mortgage: (i) less than 50 years remain and all or part of the loan is repaid on an interest-only basis: or (ii) less than 30 years remain and the loan is repaid on a capital and interest basis We will accept a lease that has been extended under the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 provided statutory compensation would be available to the leaseholder. |
| TSB | Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption. |
| Yorkshire 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. |
Engaging our service gives you better control over the value of your Barnet leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in respect of lease length should you wish to sell. The lawyers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Subsequent to lengthy negotiations with the freeholder of her two bedroom flat in Barnet, Alice started the lease extension process as the 80 year deadline was fast approaching. The transaction completed in April 2009. The landlord’s charges were kept to an absolute minimum.
Dr Rhiannon Laurent was assigned a lease of a ground floor flat in Barnet in September 1995. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Comparative premises in Barnet with a long lease were in the region of £290,000. The average amount of ground rent was £45 invoiced every twelve months. The lease lapsed in 2096. Having 72 years unexpired we calculated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £11,400 and £13,200 exclusive of professional charges.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Barnet residence 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 residue of the current lease was 76 years.