With a domestic leasehold property in Cemaes Bay, you are actually buying an entitlement to live in a property for a set period of time. In recent years flat leases typically tend to be for 99 years or 125. Many leasehold owners are unconcerned as this seems like a lengthy period of time, you should think about extending the lease sooner as opposed to later. The general rule is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease increases markedly particularly once there are fewer than eighty years left. Anyone in Cemaes Bay with a lease approaching 81 years remaining should seriously consider extending it as soon as possible. Once the lease term has fewer than eighty years remaining, under the current statute the landlord can calculate and demand a larger premium, based on a technical multiplication, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is payable.
It is conventional wisdom that a residential leasehold with over 100 years remaining is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to any lease with more than 35 years left, the property will be worth the same as a freehold for many years in the future.
| 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. |
| Skipton Building Society | 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage For Buy to Let cases: - lettings must not breach any of the lessee’s covenants; and - consent of the lessor to lettings must be obtained if necessary |
| 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. |
Retaining our service will provide you enhanced control over the value of your Cemaes Bay leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in relation to the lease length should you want to sell. The lawyers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Luca was the the leasehold owner of a conversion apartment in Cemaes Bay being sold with a lease of fraction over 59 years unexpired. Luca informally contacted his freeholder being a well known Bristol-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder indicated a willingness to grant an extension taking the lease to 125 years subject to a new rent at the outset set at £100 per annum and increase every 25 years thereafter. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Luca to invoke his statutory right. Luca procured expert legal guidance and was able to make an informed judgement and handle with the matter and ending up with a market value flat.
Dr Madeleine Patel moved into a basement apartment in Cemaes Bay in March 2002. The dilemma was if we could approximate the price would likely be for a ninety year lease extension. Comparable properties in Cemaes Bay with an extended lease were in the region of £270,000. The average ground rent payable was £55 invoiced per annum. The lease expired in 2101. Having 75 years as a residual term we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 not including expenses.
Mr K Nguyen was assigned a lease of a one bedroom flat in Cemaes Bay in August 2001. The dilemma was if we could approximate the premium would be to prolong the lease by an additional years. Comparative residencies in Cemaes Bay with an extended lease were worth £173,800. The average amount of ground rent was £60 collected annually. The lease expired on 28 October 2081. Considering the 55 years unexpired we estimated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £31,400 and £36,200 exclusive of expenses.