Stop! Your Lease Extension in Cherry Burton Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Cherry Burton 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 Cherry Burton 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.

Top reasons for Cherry Burton lease extension


Top reasons for lease extension now:

A Cherry Burton lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

Cherry Burton leases on residential deteriorating in value. Where your lease has about ninety years unexpired, you should start thinking about a lease extension. An important point to note is that it is financially advisable for a lease extension to be in place before the term of the existing lease dips lower than eighty years - otherwise a higher premium will be payable. Leasehold owners in Cherry Burton will mostly qualify for a lease extension; however a solicitor will confirm if you qualify. In certain cases you may not be entitled. There are prescribed deadlines and procedures to follow once the process is initiated so it’s prudent to be guided by a conveyancer during the process.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

It is generally accepted that a property with more than 100 years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to any lease with more than 45 years remaining, the premises will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years in the future.

Lending institutions may not finance a property on a short lease

Whether or not the lease is be regarded as a short lease varies by mortgage company, yet lending institutions start to become nervous at around 75 years. This may be problematic when you wish to market or remortgage your flat as it will be practically unmortgageable. Even though you might not have an imminent plan to sell but when you do your buyer will need to hold off for 2 years before they can exercise the right to a an extension to the lease.

Lender Requirement
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;
Halifax Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Leeds Building Society 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.
Nationwide Building Society - Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years.
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).

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
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.

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 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- 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 is 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 55 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% 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 (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- 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 (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- 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 charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis

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% 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 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.
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.

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

Retaining our service gives you enhanced control over the value of your Cherry Burton 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 have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Cherry Burton Lease Extension Case Studies:

Kian, Cherry Burton, East Yorkshire,

Kian owned a studio flat in Cherry Burton being sold with a lease of a little over 61 years left. Kian on an informal basis spoke with his landlord a well known Bristol-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder was prepared to agree an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years subject to an increased rent to £200 yearly. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Kian to invoke his statutory right. Kian procured expert advice and was able to make an informed judgement and handle with the matter and ending up with a market value flat.

Cherry Burton case:

In 2012 we were contacted by Dr Paige Lee who, having took over the lease of a recently refurbished flat in Cherry Burton in September 2001. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Similar homes in Cherry Burton with a long lease were valued about £285,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £55 invoiced annually. The lease came to a finish on 5 January 2105. Having 79 years remaining we estimated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 not including expenses.

Cherry Burton case:

In 2014 we were approached by Mr Kian Hill who, having acquired a purpose-built apartment in Cherry Burton in November 2011. We are asked if we could estimate the price would be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Identical residencies in Cherry Burton with a long lease were worth £193,400. The average amount of ground rent was £65 collected annually. The lease came to a finish in 2085. Given that there were 59 years outstanding we estimated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £21,900 and £25,200 plus professional charges.