Stop! Your Lease Extension in Crawcrook and Ryton Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Crawcrook and Ryton 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 Crawcrook and Ryton 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 Crawcrook and Ryton lease extension


Top reasons for lease extension now:

Increase your lease and increase your Crawcrook and Ryton property value

The market value of a leasehold property in Crawcrook and Ryton is impacted by how many years the lease has remaining. If it is close to or fewer than eighty years you should foresee difficulties on re-sale, so it is recommended to arrange for a lease extension ahead of buying. It is ideal to start the lease extension process when a lease still has 82 years remaining so that all matters can be concluded in advance of the eighty year mark. Leasehold Reform legislation entitles Crawcrook and Ryton qualifying lessees to a 90 year extension added to their remaining lease term (ie if your lease has fifty years remaining the statutory lease extension will provide a new term of 140 years). The intention of the valuation is to determine the premium payable by the lessee to the freeholder for the acquisition of the lease extension.

Crawcrook and Ryton property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold premises in Crawcrook and Ryton with over 100 years remaining on the lease are sometimes referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such situations there is often little to be gained by buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and estate charges justify it.

Lending institutions may decide not to loan monies with a short lease

Most mortgage lenders have constrained their lending criteria in the last ten years and borrowers are encountering difficulties in arranging finance or re-mortgage against flats with shorter lease terms, particularly below seventy years as they are deemed to be insufficient for lending purposes.

Lender Requirement
Birmingham Midshires 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.
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
Virgin 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.

Get in touch with one of our Crawcrook and Ryton lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

The conveyancing solicitors that we work with handle Crawcrook and Ryton 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.

Crawcrook and Ryton Lease Extension Example Cases:

Theo, Crawcrook and Ryton, Tyne And Wear

Last Summer Theo, came critically near to the 80-year threshold with the lease on his studio apartment in Crawcrook and Ryton. In buying his flat two decades ago, the unexpired term was of no interest. Fortunately, it dawned on him that he needed to take steps soon on Extending the lease. Theo extended the lease just under the wire in May. Theo and the landlord who owned the flat above in the end settled on the final figure of £6,000 . If he had missed the deadline, the price would have gone up by at least £950.

Crawcrook and Ryton case:

Last Autumn we were e-mailed by Mr G Patel , who was assigned a lease of a ground floor apartment in Crawcrook and Ryton in February 2002. We are asked if we could approximate the price would be to prolong the lease by an additional years. Comparative flats in Crawcrook and Ryton with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £290,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 invoiced quarterly. The lease ran out in 2106. Considering the 80 years unexpired we calculated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £12,400 and £14,200 plus costs.

Crawcrook and Ryton case:

Last year we were approach by Ms T García , who acquired a garden flat in Crawcrook and Ryton in January 2001. We are asked if we could estimate the premium would be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparative residencies in Crawcrook and Ryton with an extended lease were worth £200,800. The average amount of ground rent was £65 invoiced per annum. The lease elapsed in 2086. Having 60 years unexpired we calculated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £20,900 and £24,200 plus expenses.