For anyone whose Crouch End flat is held on a long lease, our message is clear – if you do nothing, your property will ultimately revert to the freeholder, leaving you empty-handed. The fewer the years remaining the less it is worth and the more expensive it will be to obtain a lease extension.
It is conventional wisdom that a residential leasehold with more than 100 years remaining is worth approximately the same as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the property will be worth the same as a freehold for many years ahead.
| 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. |
| Bank of Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Coventry Building Society | 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. |
| 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 will provide you better control over the value of your Crouch End leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in respect of lease length should you decide 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.
Two years ago Arthur, started to get close to the eighty-year threshold with the lease on his garden flat in Crouch End. In buying his property two decades ago, the unexpired term was of little importance. As luck would have it, he realised he needed to take action soon on a lease extension. Arthur was able to extend his lease just under the wire last April. Arthur and the landlord eventually settled on sum of £6,000 . If the lease had slipped lower than eighty years, the amount would have become more exhorbitant by a minimum £1,050.
Last year we were phoned by Mr M Clark , who acquired a basement apartment in Crouch End in November 2010. The question was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord could be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Identical residencies in Crouch End with a long lease were in the region of £225,400. The average ground rent payable was £45 invoiced yearly. The lease came to a finish on 22 June 2090. Considering the 64 years unexpired we estimated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £16,200 and £18,600 not including expenses.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Crouch End property is Flat 2A 19 Shepherds Hill in June 2014. The tribunal concluded in accordance with section 48 and schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act (the 1993 Act) that the premium payable in respect of the grant of a new lease for the Flat be £24,303 (twenty four thousand three hundred and three pounds) This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 67.85 years.