Owning a flat usually means owning a lease of the property, which has a set term of years. The lease will usually be granted for a set period of time , usually 99 or 125 years, although we have seen longer and shorter terms in Belmont. Inevitably, the period of lease remaining reduces over time. This may pass by relatively unnoticed when the residence has to be disposed of or refinanced. The shorter the lease the lower the value of the property and the more it will cost to obtain a lease extension. Qualifying long lease owners in Belmont have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for an additional ninety years in accordance with legislation. You should give careful deliberation before delaying your Belmont lease extension. Holding off that expense now likely increases the price you will ultimately incur for a lease extension
Leasehold properties in Belmont with more than one hundred years left 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 property. In such situations there is often little upside in buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and estate charges merit it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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. |
| Lloyds TSB Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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. |
Retaining our service gives you increased control over the value of your Belmont leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in relation to the lease length should you want to sell. The conveyancers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Toby was the the leasehold owner of a high value flat in Belmont on the market with a lease of a little over fifty eight years unexpired. Toby on an informal basis spoke with his landlord being a well known local-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder indicated a willingness to grant an extension taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent to start with set at £150 per annum and doubled every twenty five years thereafter. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be due on a lease extension were Toby to invoke his statutory right. Toby procured expert advice and was able to make a more informed decision and deal with the matter and sell the property.
Last Spring we were called by Mr S Peterson , who took over the lease of a garden flat in Belmont in September 1995. The dilemma was if we could approximate the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Identical flats in Belmont with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £280,000. The average amount of ground rent was £55 collected monthly. The lease end date was on 12 October 2103. Given that there were 78 years remaining we approximated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £13,300 and £15,400 plus professional charges.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Belmont flat is Buchanan Court 39 Vernon Road in April 2010. the Tribunal assessed that the premium payable for the freehold of the block should be £44,000. This case affected 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 66.67 years.