Why you should start your Charlton lease extension

Top reasons for lease extension now:

Increase your lease and increase your Charlton property value

Charlton leases on residential deteriorating in value. Where your lease has approximately ninety years unexpired, you should start thinking about a lease extension. If lease term dips under 80 years, you will then be required to pay 50% of the property's 'marriage value' in addition to the usual cost of the lease extension to the landlord. Marriage value is the amount of extra value that a lease extension will add to the property. Flat owners in Charlton will mostly qualify for a lease extension; however a solicitor will confirm if you qualify. In some circumstances you may not be entitled. There are also strict timetables and formalities to comply with once the process has started so it’s wise to be guided by a conveyancer during the process.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

Leasehold properties in Charlton with in excess of 100 years outstanding on the lease are sometimes referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and estate charges merit it.

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

The trend since over the last decade has been for lenders to tighten lending requirements generally - this has extended to the property over which the mortgage is to be granted. This has resulted in the minimum number of years remaining under the lease required by banks has increased. Historically mortgage companies were content with 25 years plus the term of the loan - routinely 50 year leases but those requirements have been chipped away by the requirement for longer and longer leases - many now have a minimum term of 75 years as standard.

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

Engaging our service gives you increased control over the value of your Charlton leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in relation to the lease length should you want to sell. The conveyancing solicitors that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Charlton Lease Extension Example Cases:

Mason, Charlton, South East London

During the course of the last few months Mason, came critically close to the eighty-year mark with the lease on his first floor apartment in Charlton. Having bought his home 18 years previously, the length of the lease was of minimal bearing. Luckily, he noticed he needed to take steps soon on a lease extension. Mason arranged for a lease extension at the eleventh hour in March. Mason and the landlord who owned the flat above subsequently agreed on the final figure of £5,500 . If he failed to meet the deadline, the amount would have increased by a minimum £1,050.

Charlton case:

Last Summer we were contacted by Mrs Courtney White , who owned a basement apartment in Charlton in June 2010. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) price would be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Comparative flats in Charlton with an extended lease were in the region of £218,000. The average amount of ground rent was £45 billed quarterly. The lease ran out in 2089. Taking into account 63 years unexpired we estimated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £17,100 and £19,800 plus legals.