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Why you should start your Colerne lease extension


Why you should start your Colerne lease extension today:

A Colerne leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

The re-sale value of a leasehold property in Colerne depends on how long the lease has remaining. If it is close to or fewer than 80 years you should expect problems on re-sale, so it is recommended to arrange for a lease extension prior to purchasing. It is ideal to start the process of extending the lease is when a lease still has 82 years unexpired so that all matters can be concluded prior to the eighty year threshold. Statute entitles Colerne qualifying lessees to acquire a new lease which will be for the current unexpired lease term plus a further term of 90 years. The purpose of the valuation is to arrive at an opinion of the amount payable by the lessee to the freeholder for the purchase of the lease extension.

Colerne property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold properties in Colerne with more than 100 years left on the lease are sometimes regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth 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 maintenance charges warrant it.

Mortgage lenders may not issue a mortgage on a short lease

Banks and building societies are really clamping down as regards to homes in Colerne with short leases. For example you might discover that their lending criteria are stricter and that they adjust interest rates depending on how many years are left on the lease. Some may even refrain from lending completely, so if you wanted to sell, your remaining options would be to find a cash buyer, or try your luck at auction thus reducing the amount of prospective purchasers.

Lender Requirement
Bank of Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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 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.
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

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

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

Colerne Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Kayleigh, Colerne, Wiltshire,

After unsuccessful discussions with the freeholder of her purpose-built flat in Colerne, Kayleigh commenced the lease extension process just as the lease was nearing the critical eighty-year threshold. The lease extension was finalised in November 2015. The freeholder’s costs were negotiated to a tad over 500 pounds.

Colerne case:

Last Christmas we were called by Mr Austin Young , who purchased a purpose-built apartment in Colerne in May 2000. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) price would likely be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Similar homes in Colerne with a long lease were in the region of £243,000. The average ground rent payable was £65 billed every twelve months. The lease concluded on 24 May 2088. Given that there were 63 years left we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £20,000 and £23,000 not including professional charges.

Colerne case:

Last year we were phoned by Dr Tia Gray , who moved into a basement flat in Colerne in June 1996. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would likely be for a 90 year lease extension. Similar homes in Colerne with a long lease were worth £181,600. The average ground rent payable was £55 invoiced annually. The lease termination date was on 10 June 2077. Having 52 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £30,400 and £35,200 not including professional charges.