Burgess Hill Lease Extension - Free Consultation

Before you progress with your lease extension in Burgess Hill
Get a quote from one of our lease extension experts with over 20 years experience.

Let them guide you for FREE on the various options available to you.

It may end up saving you thousands.

Main reasons to commence your Burgess Hill lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Burgess Hill lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Burgess Hill property value

It’s a harsh certainty that a Burgess Hill residential lease is a wasting asset. As the lease term reduces so does the value of the property. The extent of this is not fully appreciated in the early years due to the depreciation being disguised by increases in the Burgess Hill property market.Once your lease gets to 85ish years, you need to start considering a lease extension. If the number of years remaining dips below 80 years, you will end up paying 50% of the property's 'marriage value' on top of the usual cost of the lease extension to the landlord. The marriage fee is the amount of extra value that a lease extension will add the property The majority of leasehold owners in Burgess Hill will be able to extend under the legislation; however a lawyer should be able to confirm whether you are eligibility. In some cases you may not qualify. There are also strict deadlines and procedures to follow once the process has commenced and you will need to be guided by your conveyancing solicitor throughout the formalities.

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

It is generally accepted that a residential leasehold with in excess of one hundred years remaining is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to any lease with more than 30 years unexpired, the residence will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years ahead.

Lending institutions will not lend on a short lease

Banks and Building Societies are less likely to issue a mortgage on a residential property in Burgess Hill with a short lease. Some lenders simply refuse a mortgage on leases with under 75 years left.

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.
Leeds Building Society 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.
Lloyds TSB Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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.
TSB Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption.

What makes us experts in Burgess Hill lease extensions?

Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Burgess Hill,the lease extension solicitors that we work with will always be prepared to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with Burgess Hill valuers.

Burgess Hill Lease Extension Example Cases:

Holly, Burgess Hill, West Sussex,

Off the back of lengthy discussions with the landlord of her one bedroom apartment in Burgess Hill, Holly started the lease extension process as the eighty year threshold was swiftly nearing. The legal work was finalised in October 2010. The freeholder’s fees were kept to an absolute minimum.

Burgess Hill case:

Last month we were e-mailed by Dr Cameron Flores , who moved into a ground floor flat in Burgess Hill in May 2002. The dilemma was if we could approximate the premium would be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Comparative homes in Burgess Hill with an extended lease were worth £285,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £55 invoiced yearly. The lease lapsed on 5 August 2104. Considering the 79 years as a residual term we estimated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £13,300 and £15,400 exclusive of fees.

Burgess Hill case:

Mr and Mrs. N Petit purchased a ground floor apartment in Burgess Hill in August 2002. The dilemma was if we could approximate the premium would likely be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Comparable flats in Burgess Hill with 100 year plus lease were worth £198,400. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £65 collected per annum. The lease terminated in 2084. Having 59 years unexpired we calculated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £21,900 and £25,200 exclusive of professional charges.