Owning a flat usually means owning a lease of the property, which has a set term of years. your lease will usually be granted for a prescribed period of time , ordinarily 99 or 125 years, although we have witnessed longer and shorter terms in Chesham. Inevitably, the period of lease remaining shortens over time. This is often ignored and only raises itself as an issue when the property needs to be sold or re-mortgaged. The shorter the lease the lower the value of the property and the more it will cost to extend the lease. Qualifying long lease owners in Chesham have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for a further ninety years in accordance with Leasehold Reform legislation. You should give careful attention before delaying your Chesham lease extension. Holding off that expense now only increases the price you will eventually incur for a lease extension
Leasehold premises in Chesham with in excess of one hundred years outstanding on the lease are often regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such situations there is often little upside in buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges justify it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Bank of Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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; |
| Barnsley Building Society | 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term. |
| 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. |
Retaining our service gives you increased control over the value of your Chesham leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in terms of lease length should you want to sell. The lawyers that we work with have a in-depth market knowledge handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Alfie owned a conversion flat in Chesham on the market with a lease of a little over 72 years unexpired. Alfie on an informal basis spoke with his freeholder being a well known Manchester-based freehold company for a lease extension. The landlord was keen to agree an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years subject to a rise in the rent to £125 yearly. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Alfie to exercise his statutory right. Alfie obtained expert legal guidance and secured an acceptable deal without going to tribunal and sell the flat.
Mr and Mrs. L Lefèvre was assigned a lease of a first floor apartment in Chesham in May 2003. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) price would likely be to extend the lease by ninety years. Comparative homes in Chesham with 100 year plus lease were worth £275,000. The average amount of ground rent was £55 billed monthly. The lease termination date was on 11 May 2102. Given that there were 76 years unexpired we estimated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £9,500 and £11,000 exclusive of fees.
In 2014 we were e-mailed by Dr Finley Campbell who, having was assigned a lease of a first floor apartment in Chesham in March 2011. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) compensation to the landlord would likely be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Comparable residencies in Chesham with a long lease were in the region of £176,200. The average ground rent payable was £65 billed per annum. The lease ran out in 2082. Taking into account 56 years as a residual term we approximated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £29,500 and £34,000 not including expenses.