Culcheth 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 Culcheth residential leaseholders to extend the terms of long leases. If you are a leasehold owner in Culcheth you really ought to investigate if your lease has between 70 and ninety years remaining. There are good reasons why a Culcheth leaseholder with a lease having around eighty years left should take steps to make sure that a lease extension is put in place without delay
Leasehold residencies in Culcheth with in excess of one hundred years remaining on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such circumstances there is often little to be gained by purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges justify it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Barclays plc | Leases with less than 70 years at the commencement of the mortgage should be declined (see exception below). Leases with greater than 70 years but fewer than 85 years remaining must be referred to issuing office. 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; |
| 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. |
| Lloyds TSB Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
| 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 enhanced control over the value of your Culcheth leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in respect of lease length should you wish to sell. The conveyancers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Finley owned a studio flat in Culcheth being sold with a lease of a little over 72 years unexpired. Finley informally spoke with his landlord a well known Manchester-based freehold company for a lease extension. The landlord indicated a willingness to grant an extension taking the lease to 125 years subject to a new rent initially set at £100 per annum and increase every 25 years thereafter. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Finley to invoke his statutory right. Finley procured expert legal guidance and secured an acceptable resolution without going to tribunal and ending up with a market value flat.
In 2012 we were phoned by Mr and Mrs. K Bennett who, having acquired a one bedroom flat in Culcheth in June 2007. The dilemma was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Identical flats in Culcheth with a long lease were worth £270,000. The average ground rent payable was £55 billed annually. The lease expired in 2101. Considering the 76 years remaining we estimated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 exclusive of fees.
Last Christmas we were approach by Mr and Mrs. C François , who was assigned a lease of a ground floor apartment in Culcheth in February 2003. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) premium would likely be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Similar residencies in Culcheth with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £173,800. The mid-range ground rent payable was £65 invoiced monthly. The lease finished on 18 April 2080. Having 55 years as a residual term we approximated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £31,400 and £36,200 exclusive of costs.