Owning a apartment usually means owning a lease of the property, which has a finite term of years. your lease will usually be granted for a fixed period of time , ordinarily 99 or 125 years, although we have come across longer and shorter terms in City of Darlington. Inevitably, the period of lease remaining reduces over time. This is often ignored and only becomes a problem when the residence needs to be disposed of or re-mortgaged. The shorter the lease the lower the value of the property and the more expensive it will be to obtain a lease extension. Qualifying long lease owners in City of Darlington have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for an additional ninety years under Leasehold Reform legislation. Do give due attention before putting off your City of Darlington lease extension. Holding off the cost now simply increases the price you will ultimately have to pay to extend your lease
Leasehold residencies in City of Darlington with more than 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 home. In such situations there is often little upside in purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and estate charges justify it.
| 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; |
| Barnsley Building Society | 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term. |
| Santander | If the property is leasehold, the remaining unexpired lease term at the end of the new mortgage term must be at least 50 years where any part of the mortgage is on Interest Only and 30 years if all loan parts are on Capital Repayment and Interest. You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if:
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| The Mortgage Works | Minimum unexpired lease term is 70 years with 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term. 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 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 70 years - 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 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 70 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 1.0% 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 - 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 - 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 reviewed and altered on any review basis or methodology 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 1.0% 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 the 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. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
Using our service will provide you increased control over the value of your City of Darlington leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in relation to the lease length should you wish to sell. The conveyancing solicitors that we work with have a in-depth market knowledge handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Half a year ago Kian, came very close to the 80-year threshold with the lease on his garden flat in City of Darlington. Having bought his home 19 years previously, the unexpired term was of minimal concern. Thankfully, he realised he needed to take steps soon on a lease extension. Kian arranged for a lease extension just under the wire in July. Kian and the landlord subsequently agreed on the final figure of £6,000 . If he failed to meet the deadline, the price would have gone up by a minimum £850.
Last month we were e-mailed by Dr I Davis , who moved into a one bedroom flat in City of Darlington in January 2002. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) price could be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Comparative premises in City of Darlington with an extended lease were valued around £218,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £45 invoiced per annum. The lease finished in 2089. Taking into account 63 years remaining we calculated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £17,100 and £19,800 not including fees.
Mr Austin Bennett completed a basement flat in City of Darlington in January 2012. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Comparative flats in City of Darlington with an extended lease were valued about £265,000. The average ground rent payable was £50 invoiced per annum. The lease expiry date was in 2099. Considering the 73 years outstanding we approximated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £9,500 and £11,000 exclusive of expenses.