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Why you should commence your Cuckfield lease extension


Why you should commence your Cuckfield lease extension today:

A Cuckfield lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

The market value of a leasehold property in Cuckfield depends on how many years the lease has remaining. If it is near to or less than eighty years you should expect problems on re-sale, so it is recommended to arrange for the lease to be extended prior to purchasing. Ideally one should start the lease extension process when a lease still has 82 years unexpired so that all matters can be concluded prior to the 80 year cut off point. Current legislation entitles Cuckfield qualifying lessees to obtain a new lease which will be for the current unexpired lease term plus a further term of ninety years. The intention of the valuation is to determine the amount payable by the lessee to the freeholder for the acquisition of the lease extension.

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

It is conventional wisdom that a property with in excess of one hundred years remaining is worth approximately the same as a freehold. Where an further ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the property will be equivalent in value to a freehold for decades to come.

Lending institutions may not lend with a short lease

Most mortgage lenders will be unwilling to grant a mortgage on a lease with under 70 years remaining - although this varies from lender to lender. A buyer will undoubtedly encounter difficulties to obtain a mortgage and this will result in your Cuckfield property becoming difficult to dispose of or to obtain finance on.

Lender Requirement
Bank of Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Barnsley Building Society 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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.
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 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.

Why use us for your lease extension in Cuckfield?

Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Cuckfield,the lease extension experts that we work with will always be willing to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with Cuckfield valuers.

Cuckfield Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Lily, Cuckfield, West Sussex,

Trailing lengthy discussions with the landlord of her ground floor apartment in Cuckfield, Lily commenced the lease extension process as the eighty year threshold was swiftly coming. The transaction completed in July 2009. The landlord’s fees were kept to an absolute minimum.

Cuckfield case:

In 2012 we were contacted by Dr D Vincent who, having took over the lease of a studio apartment in Cuckfield in September 2010. The dilemma was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord could be for a ninety year lease extension. Similar residencies in Cuckfield with 100 year plus lease were valued around £280,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £45 billed every twelve months. The lease lapsed in 2095. Having 70 years unexpired we approximated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £12,400 and £14,200 exclusive of professional charges.

Cuckfield case:

Dr H Bell owned a ground floor apartment in Cuckfield in July 2000. The dilemma was if we could estimate the premium would likely be to prolong the lease by an additional years. Comparative homes in Cuckfield with a long lease were in the region of £218,400. The mid-range ground rent payable was £60 collected per annum. The lease lapsed in 2084. Having 59 years outstanding we estimated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £27,600 and £31,800 exclusive of professional charges.