Bickley Lease Extension - Free Consultation

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Why you should start your Bickley lease extension


Top reasons for lease extension now:

Increase your lease and increase your Bickley property value

The value of Bickley leasehold residential property falls as the lease term becomes shorter and this will have an impact on its saleability. The cost of a lease extension can escalate substantially once the unexpired lease term is below than 80 years

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold residencies in Bickley with more than one hundred years remaining 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 to be gained by purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges merit it.

Banks and Building Societies may not finance a property with a short lease

Mortgage companies are really restricting their approach as regards to properties in Bickley with short leases. For instance you might discover that their lending criteria are stricter and that they adjust interest rates depending on the unexpired lease term. Some may even refrain from lending completely, so where you wanted to sell, your only options would be to find a cash purchaser, or hope for the best at auction thus reducing your market.

Lender Requirement
Bank of Scotland 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.
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.

Get in touch with one of our Bickley lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

Retaining our service will provide you enhanced control over the value of your Bickley leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in respect of lease length should you decide to sell. The lawyers that we work with have a in-depth market knowledge handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Bickley Lease Extension Case Studies:

Jennifer, Bickley, South East London,

Following unsuccessful discussions with the freeholder of her studio apartment in Bickley, Jennifer started the lease extension process just as her lease was approaching the crucial 80-year mark. The lease extension was finalised in July 2011. The freeholder’s charges were kept to an absolute minimum.

Bickley case:

In 2010 we were contacted by Dr E Robinson who, having owned a one bedroom flat in Bickley in October 1998. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium would likely be to extend the lease by 90 years. Identical flats in Bickley with a long lease were valued about £285,000. The average amount of ground rent was £55 invoiced yearly. The lease concluded in 2105. Taking into account 80 years as a residual term we calculated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 exclusive of professional charges.

Decision in Bromley

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Bickley property is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 50.57 years.