Beckenham leases on residential properties are gradually diminishing in value. The shorter the remaining lease term becomes, the less it is worth – and accordingly any extension of your lease gets more expensive. Legislation has been in place for sometime now which permits qualifying Beckenham residential leaseholders to extend the terms of long leases. Where you are a leasehold owner in Beckenham you should check if your lease has between seventy and ninety years remaining. There are good reasons why a Beckenham flat owner with a lease having around 80 years remaining should take action to ensure that a lease extension is effected without delay
Leasehold properties in Beckenham with over 100 years left on the lease are sometimes referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such situations there is often little upside in purchasing 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. |
| Chelsea 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Beckenham,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 Beckenham valuers.
In the wake of eight months of protracted negotiations with the landlord of her first floor apartment in Beckenham, Amy commenced the lease extension process just as the lease was coming close to the crucial eighty-year deadline. The legal work was finalised in April 2007. The landlord’s fees were restricted to about 450 pounds.
Last year we were contacted by Mr N Petit , who completed a one bedroom flat in Beckenham in November 1999. We are asked if we could approximate the price could be for a ninety year lease extension. Comparative homes in Beckenham with a long lease were valued around £248,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £65 billed every twelve months. The lease finished in 2088. Given that there were 63 years outstanding we estimated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £20,900 and £24,200 exclusive of costs.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Beckenham flat is 26 Manor Road in July 2010. the Tribunal decided that price to be paid for the freehold was £12,420 This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 76.75 and 88.83.