Stop! Your Lease Extension in Beddington South Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Beddington South are unaware that their original lawyer had a duty to warn them about future mortgageability and saleability issues. Before you pay thousands to your freeholder, let us audit your purchase history. You might have a claim that pays for your lease extension in full

If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Beddington South has dropped toward the 80-year mark, your previous lawyer may be at fault. Our panel of experts specialise in recovering lease extension costs from negligent firms who failed to protect your investment.

Main reasons to start your Beddington South lease extension


Why you should commence your Beddington South lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Beddington South property value

Beddington South leases on residential properties are gradually losing value. Where your lease has about ninety years remaining, you should start thinking about a lease extension. If lease term is under 80 years, you will then have to pay half of the property's 'marriage value' on top of the usual cost of the lease extension to the landlord. Marriage value is the amount of extra value that a lease extension will add to the property. Leasehold owners in Beddington South will mostly qualify for a lease extension; however a solicitor should be able check your eligibility. In certain situations you may not qualify. There are prescribed timetables and formalities to follow once the process is triggered so it’s wise to be guided by a lawyer during the process.

Beddington South property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold

It is conventional wisdom that a property with over 100 years remaining is worth approximately the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further ninety years added to any lease with more than 45 years left, the premises will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years ahead.

Lending institutions may not grant a mortgage with a short lease

The definition of a short lease depends on the specific mortgage company, yet banks and building societies start to become nervous at around 75 years. This may cause difficulties as and when you need to sell or remortgage your property as it will be effectively unmortgageable. Even though you might have no imminent plan to sell but when you do your buyer will need to wait 2 years before being able to exercise the right to a a lease extension.

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.
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.
National Westminster Bank Mortgage term plus 30 years.

For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must be at least 30 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset of the mortgage.
The Mortgage Works Minimum unexpired lease term is 70 years with 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:

Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer

New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer

Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.

SECOND HAND PROPERTIES

Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 70 years
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period less than or equal to 5 years

Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 70 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1.0% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary

Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI

NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)

Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house
- Any lease which is subject to a ground rent (or annual rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a ground rent (or annual rent) being reviewed and altered on any review basis or methodology

Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1.0% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary

Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn ground rent (annual rent) charges

For the avoidance of doubt, any new build properties completed but not sold pre 30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the lease conforms to the above guidance

* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years

LEASE EXTENSIONS

We require all lease extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to the Issuing Office

Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.
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.

Why use us for your lease extension in Beddington South?

Lease extensions in Beddington South can be a difficult process. We recommend you procure guidance from a conveyancing solicitor and surveyor well versed in the legislation and lease extension process.

We provide you with an expert from a selection of lease extension solicitors, which ensures a targeted and efficient service as you have a dedicated port of call with an individual lawyer. Our lease extension solicitors have in-depth market knowledge dealing with Beddington South lease extensions and further afield, as well as any potential issues which may arise as well as problems with the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal.

Beddington South Lease Extension Case Studies:

Laura, Beddington South, South London,

Following unsuccessful discussions with the landlord of her two bedroom flat in Beddington South, Laura started the lease extension process as the eighty year mark was quickly coming. The transaction completed in July 2006. The landlord’s charges were kept to an absolute minimum.

Beddington South case:

In 2013 we were contacted by Ms S Michel who, having owned a basement apartment in Beddington South in August 2003. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) compensation to the landlord would likely be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Similar flats in Beddington South with an extended lease were worth £264,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £60 collected per annum. The lease ran out in 2079. Having 53 years outstanding we calculated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £37,100 and £42,800 not including costs.

Decision in Croydon

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Beddington South property is 29 Woodstock Road in April 2014. the Tribunal determined that the premiums to be paid into court in respect of the purchase of the freehold registered at HMLR under Title N0.SY3997 should be £7,217. This case related to 4 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 98 years.