Stop! Your Lease Extension in Burnt Oak Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Burnt Oak are unaware that their original lawyer had a duty to warn them about future mortgageability and saleability issues. Before you pay thousands to your freeholder, let us audit your purchase history. You might have a claim that pays for your lease extension in full

If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Burnt Oak has dropped toward the 80-year mark, your previous lawyer may be at fault. Our panel of experts specialise in recovering lease extension costs from negligent firms who failed to protect your investment.

Top reasons for Burnt Oak lease extension


Why you should start your Burnt Oak lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Burnt Oak property value

The market value of a leasehold property in Burnt Oak is impacted by how long the lease has remaining. If it is near to or less than eighty years you should foresee difficulties on re-sale, so it is recommended to arrange for a lease extension before purchasing. It is preferable to start the process of extending the lease is when a lease still has 82 years remaining so that formalities can be finalised prior to the eighty year mark. Statute entitles Burnt Oak qualifying lessees to acquire a lease extension of ninety years on top of the remaining length of the lease at a peppercorn rent (that is, rent free). The intention of the valuation is to determine the premium payable by the lessee to the freeholder for the purchase of the lease extension.

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

It is generally considered that a residential leasehold with more than 100 years remaining is worth approximately the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to any lease with more than 45 years left, the residence will be equivalent in value to a freehold for decades to come.

Lenders will not lend with a short lease

Many mortgage companies will not grant a mortgage on a lease with less than seventy years left to run - although this varies between mortgage companies. A purchaser will no doubt find it difficult to obtain a mortgage and this will result in your Burnt Oak property being difficult to dispose of or remortgage.

Lender Requirement
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.
Leeds Building Society 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.
The Mortgage Works Minimum unexpired lease term is 70 years with 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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

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 70 years
- 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 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 70 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 1.0% 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
- 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
- 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 reviewed and altered on any review basis or methodology

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 1.0% 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 the 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.
Royal Bank of Scotland Mortgage term plus 30 years.

Why use us for your lease extension in Burnt Oak?

Lease extensions in Burnt Oak can be a difficult process. We recommend you obtain professional help from a lawyer and valuer with experience in this area.

We provide you with an expert from a selection of lease extension solicitors, which ensures a targeted and efficient service as you have a dedicated port of call with an individual lawyer. Our lease extension solicitors have in-depth market knowledge procuring Burnt Oak lease extensions and further afield, as well as any potential issues which may arise as well as problems with the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal.

Burnt Oak Lease Extension Example Cases:

Noah, Burnt Oak, North London,

Noah was the the leasehold owner of a studio flat in Burnt Oak on the market with a lease of just over 59 years remaining. Noah on an informal basis approached his freeholder being a well known Manchester-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord indicated a willingness to extend the lease to 125 years on the basis of a rise in the rent to £125 yearly. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Noah to invoke his statutory right. Noah obtained expert advice and was able to make a more informed decision and handle with the matter and sell the flat.

Burnt Oak case:

Last Christmas we were phoned by Mr and Mrs. E Anderson , who was assigned a lease of a garden flat in Burnt Oak in May 2007. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord could be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparative flats in Burnt Oak with a long lease were valued around £267,600. The average ground rent payable was £65 billed every twelve months. The lease expiry date was on 9 June 2093. Given that there were 67 years left we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £14,300 and £16,400 not including costs.

Decision in Harrow

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Burnt Oak residence is 20 Orchard Court Stonegrove in June 2009. The tribunal decided that a premium of £11,040 should be payable for the new lease This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 71.55 years.