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Top reasons for Bridport lease extension


Why you should commence your Bridport lease extension today:

A Bridport leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

The only way is down when it comes to Bridport lease terms. Bridport leaseholds that have a remaining term shorter than 80 years will drop in value at a rapid rate, and the cost to extend your lease will increase.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

It is generally accepted that a residential leasehold with in excess of 100 years unexpired lease term is worth approximately the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further 90 years added to all but the shortest lease, the property will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years ahead.

Mortgage lenders may not loan monies with a short lease

Most mortgage lenders will be unwilling to lend on a lease with less than 70 years left to run - although this varies between mortgage companies. A buyer will likely encounter difficulties in obtaining a mortgage and this could result in your Bridport property being difficult to sell or remortgage.

Lender Requirement
Leeds Building Society 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.
National Westminster Bank Mortgage term plus 30 years.
Nationwide Building Society - Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years.
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).

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
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.

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 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- 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 is 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 55 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% 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 (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- 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 (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- 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 charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis

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% 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 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.
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.
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.

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

Retaining our service gives you increased control over the value of your Bridport leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in terms of lease length should you wish to sell. The conveyancing solicitors that we work with have a in-depth market knowledge handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Bridport Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Daniel, Bridport, Dorset

Last Autumn Daniel, started to get close to the eighty-year mark with the lease on his purpose- built flat in Bridport. Having bought his flat 18 years previously, the unexpired term was of minimal concern. Luckily, he realised he needed to take action soon on a lease extension. Daniel extended the lease just in the nick of time last June. Daniel and the freeholder eventually agreed on an amount of £5,500 . If the lease had gone lower than eighty years, the figure would have escalated by a minimum £1,150.

Bridport case:

Mr and Mrs. B Bertrand completed a recently refurbished apartment in Bridport in November 2012. The question was if we could estimate the price would be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Comparative residencies in Bridport with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £223,400. The average amount of ground rent was £60 invoiced yearly. The lease expiry date was in 2084. Taking into account 59 years remaining we estimated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £27,600 and £31,800 plus legals.

Bridport case:

Last Christmas we were approach by Mr and Mrs. G Mason , who bought a purpose-built apartment in Bridport in September 2003. The question was if we could estimate the premium would be for a 90 year lease extension. Comparative premises in Bridport with 100 year plus lease were valued about £205,000. The average amount of ground rent was £50 invoiced every twelve months. The lease lapsed in 2104. Having 79 years left we calculated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £8,600 and £9,800 exclusive of legals.