Stop! Your Lease Extension in Chalk Farm Could Be FREE

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Many leaseholders in Chalk Farm 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 Chalk Farm 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.

Main reasons to commence your Chalk Farm lease extension

Main reasons to commence your Chalk Farm lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Chalk Farm property value

Owning a apartment usually means owning a lease of the property, which has a set term of years. your lease will usually be granted for a fixed period of time , usually 99 or 125 years, although we have witnessed longer and shorter terms in Chalk Farm. Inevitably, the length of lease left reduces as time goes by. This is often overlooked and only becomes a problem when the flat or house needs to be sold or re-mortgaged. The shorter the lease the less it is worth and the more it will cost to procure a lease extension. Qualifying long lease owners in Chalk Farm have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for a further 90 years in accordance with legislation. Please give careful attention before putting off your Chalk Farm lease extension. Putting off that expense now simply increases the price you will eventually have to pay for a 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 same as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to any lease with more than 30 years remaining, the residence will be worth the same as a freehold for many years in the future.

Banks and Building Societies may not grant a mortgage with a short lease

Banks and Building Societies have set criteria when lending funds secured on leasehold homes. Many will simply refrain from lending at all once the remaining lease term slips under a certain unexpired lease term. Many Lending institutions will not consider property with a remaining below 75 years suitable security. As well as impacting your ability to sell, it is also relevant where you are seeking to remortgage your Chalk Farm property.

Lender Requirement
Accord Mortgages 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.
Barclays plc Leases with less than 70 years at the commencement of the mortgage are not acceptable.

Leases with fewer than 70 years should only be referred to the issuing office where the following scenario applies, as discretion may be applied subject to bank approval:

• Property is located in any of the following prestigious developments: Cadogan, Crown, Grosvenor, Howard de Walden, Portman or Wellcome Trust Estates in Central London AND
• The value of the property subject to the short remaining term is £500,000 or more AND
• The loan to value does not exceed 90% for purchases, 90% like for like re-mortgages, 80% for re-mortgages with any element of capital raising and 80% for existing Barclays mortgage borrowers applying for additional borrowing;
National Westminster Bank Mortgage term plus 30 years.

For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must be at least 75 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset 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
TSB Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption.

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

Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Chalk Farm,the lease extension solicitors that we work with will always be happy to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their experience and the close ties they enjoy with Chalk Farm valuers.

Chalk Farm Lease Extension Example Cases:

Isobel, Chalk Farm, North London,

Following unsuccessful negotiations with the freeholder of her two bedroom apartment in Chalk Farm, Isobel initiated the lease extension process as the 80 year threshold was rapidly coming. The lease extension was concluded in April 2014. The landlord’s costs were restricted to less than 500 GBP.

Chalk Farm case:

In 2012 we were called by Mr and Mrs. I Bell who, having bought a ground floor flat in Chalk Farm in April 2009. The question was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would be to extend the lease by ninety years. Comparable homes in Chalk Farm with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £174,200. The average amount of ground rent was £55 billed monthly. The lease came to a finish on 9 November 2077. Taking into account 51 years unexpired we estimated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £31,400 and £36,200 not including legals.

Decision in Camden

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Chalk Farm flat is Flat 2 27 Mackeson Road in December 2012. The Tribunal assessed the value of the lease extension premium at £35,435 and rounded the figure to £35,500 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 64.77 years.