Biggin Hill leases on domestic deteriorating in value. Where your lease has in the region of 90 years left, you should start considering the need for a lease extension. If lease term is less than eighty years, you will then be required to pay 50% 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 Biggin Hill will mostly be legally entitled to a lease extension; however it’s a good idea to check with a conveyancing solicitor to confirm if you qualify. In certain situations you may not be entitled. There are prescribed timetables and procedures to comply with once the process is triggered so it’s wise to be guided by a conveyancer during the process.
It is generally considered that a property with over 100 years unexpired lease term is worth approximately the same as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the premises will be equivalent in value to a freehold for decades to come.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
| TSB | Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
| 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. |
The conveyancing solicitors that we work with procure Biggin Hill lease extensions and help protect your position. A lease extension can be arranged to be completed to coincide with a change of ownership so the costs of the lease extension are paid for using part of the sale proceeds. You really do need expert legal advice in this difficult and technical area of law. The lawyer we work with provide it.
Off the back of lengthy discussions with the landlord of her ground floor apartment in Biggin Hill, Niamh initiated the lease extension process just as her lease was coming close to the crucial 80-year deadline. The legal work was finalised in February 2013. The landlord’s fees were restricted to about 450 GBP.
Last Christmas we were phoned by Mr and Mrs. H Johnson , who bought a ground floor apartment in Biggin Hill in March 1997. The question was if we could estimate the premium could be to prolong the lease by an additional years. Identical flats in Biggin Hill with an extended lease were valued about £267,600. The mid-range ground rent payable was £65 invoiced annually. The lease ended on 13 February 2092. Having 67 years remaining we calculated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £14,300 and £16,400 exclusive of professional charges.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Biggin Hill flat 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 50.57 years.