Copse Hill leases on residential properties are gradually losing value. The shorter the remaining lease term becomes, the less it is worth – and as a result any extension of your lease gets more expensive. Legislation has been in place for sometime now allowing qualifying Copse Hill residential leaseholders to extend the terms of long leases. If you are a leasehold owner in Copse Hill you would be well advised to see if your lease has between 70 and 90 years left. There are good reasons why a Copse Hill leaseholder with a lease having around 80 years remaining should take action to make sure that a lease extension is actioned without delay
Leasehold properties in Copse Hill with more than one hundred years remaining on the lease are often referred to as ‘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 purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and estate charges warrant it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Accord Mortgages | 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage. Please ensure that you explain the implications of a short term lease to the borrower. |
| 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; |
| Chelsea Building Society | 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage. Please ensure that you explain the implications of a short term lease to the borrower. |
| Halifax | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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 |
The lawyers that we work with procure Copse Hill lease extensions and help protect your position. A lease extension can be arranged to be completed to coincide with a change of ownership so the costs of the lease extension are paid for using part of the sale proceeds. You really do need expert legal advice in this difficult and technical area of law. The conveyancing solicitor we work with provide it.
Last October Leo, came precariously close to the eighty-year threshold with the lease on his purpose- built flat in Copse Hill. Having purchased his flat two decades ago, the lease term was of no relevance. As luck would have it, he recognised he would soon be paying an inflated amount for a lease extension. Leo arranged for a lease extension at the eleventh hour in June. Leo and the landlord subsequently agreed on an amount of £5,000 . If the lease had dropped to less than 80 years, the figure would have gone up by a minimum £1,150.
Last Spring we were contacted by Mrs Abbie Michel , who took over the lease of a recently refurbished flat in Copse Hill in May 2000. The question was if we could approximate the premium would be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Similar flats in Copse Hill with an extended lease were valued around £220,400. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £45 billed monthly. The lease lapsed on 5 September 2090. Having 64 years remaining we calculated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £16,200 and £18,600 plus legals.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Copse Hill premises is 83 Balvernie Grove in February 2012. The Tribunal assessed the price to be paid by the leaseholder to the freeholder for the lease extension pursuant to section 48 of the Leasehold Reform Housing & Urban Development Act 1993 should be£16,603.00 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 69.32 years.