When it comes to domestic leasehold premises in Chelsfield, you are in fact renting it for a certain period of time. These days flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Even though this may appear like a long period of time, you may think about a lease extension sooner rather than later. Accepted thinking is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease increases markedly especially when there are fewer than 80 years left. Residents in Chelsfield with a lease drawing near to 81 years unexpired should seriously consider extending it without delay. When a lease has below 80 years outstanding, under the relevant legislation the freeholder is entitled to calculate and demand a larger premium, based on a technical calculation, known as “marriage value” which is due.
It is generally accepted that a property with in excess of one hundred years remaining is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further 90 years added to any lease with more than 45 years unexpired, the premises will be worth the same as a freehold for many years in the future.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 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 remaing from the start of the mortgage. |
| Santander | You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if: 1. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is between 55 and 82 years, but the actual unexpired term differs by more than one year (whether longer or shorter); or 2. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is more than 82 years but the actual unexpired term is less than 82 years; or 3. no valuation report is provided However, we will not accept a lease where on expiry of the mortgage: (i) less than 50 years remain and all or part of the loan is repaid on an interest-only basis: or (ii) less than 30 years remain and the loan is repaid on a capital and interest basis We will accept a lease that has been extended under the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 provided statutory compensation would be available to the leaseholder. |
| 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 |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. For a Lifetime Mortgage, the term must be no less than 150 years minus the age of the Borrower. |
Retaining our service will provide you enhanced control over the value of your Chelsfield leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in relation to the lease length should you wish to sell. The lawyers that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Subsequent to unsuccessful correspondence with the freeholder of her basement flat in Chelsfield, Danielle initiated the lease extension process just as her lease was coming close to the critical eighty-year threshold. The transaction completed in May 2006. The landlord’s costs were restricted to slightly above 500 pounds.
Last Autumn we were e-mailed by Mr and Mrs. H Martin , who moved into a ground floor apartment in Chelsfield in March 2003. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium could be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Comparable premises in Chelsfield with an extended lease were valued around £210,000. The average ground rent payable was £50 invoiced yearly. The lease came to a finish in 2102. Having 80 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Chelsfield flat is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 50.57 years.