With a long leasehold premises in Charing Cross, you are actually buying a right to live in a property for a prescribed time frame. These days 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 consider extending the lease sooner rather than later. Accepted thinking is that the shorter the number of years is the cost of extending the lease gets disproportionately more expensive especially when there are less than eighty years remaining. Anyone in Charing Cross with a lease approaching 81 years left should seriously consider extending it as soon as possible. When the lease term has under eighty years outstanding, under the relevant Act the landlord is entitled to calculate and demand a larger amount, based on a technical computation, known as “marriage value” which is due.
Leasehold premises in Charing Cross with over one hundred years outstanding on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such situations there is often little upside in buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges warrant it.
| 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. |
| Bank of Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date 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. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
Engaging our service gives you enhanced control over the value of your Charing Cross leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in terms of lease length should you want to sell. The conveyancers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Samuel was the the leasehold owner of a conversion apartment in Charing Cross on the market with a lease of a few days over sixty years left. Samuel informally approached his freeholder being a well known London-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord indicated a willingness to extend the lease to 125 years subject to a rise in the rent to £125 per annum. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Samuel to exercise his statutory right. Samuel procured expert legal guidance and was able to make a more informed decision and deal with the matter and ending up with a market value flat.
Dr I Martin acquired a recently refurbished apartment in Charing Cross in August 2001. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would likely be to extend the lease by 90 years. Identical homes in Charing Cross with a long lease were worth £210,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £50 billed yearly. The lease elapsed on 25 April 2106. Given that there were 80 years remaining we calculated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £8,600 and £9,800 exclusive of professional charges.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Charing Cross residence is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 73.26 years.