Darwen leases on residential properties are gradually losing value. if your lease has in the region of ninety years left, you should start thinking about a lease extension. If lease term is under eighty years, you will then have to pay half of the property's 'marriage value' on top of the usual cost of the lease extension to the landlord. Marriage value is the amount of additional value that a lease extension will add to the property. Flat owners in Darwen will mostly qualify for a lease extension; however It would be wise to check with a conveyancer to confirm if you qualify. In certain circumstances you may not be entitled. There are prescribed deadlines and procedures to follow once the process has commenced so it’s prudent to be guided by a conveyancer during the process.
It is generally accepted that a residential leasehold with over one hundred years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further 90 years added to all but the shortest lease, the residence will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years in the future.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| Leeds Building Society | 85 years remaining from the start 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 |
| 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. |
The conveyancers that we work with procure Darwen 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 lawyer we work with provide it.
Subsequent to protracted negotiations with the freeholder of her two bedroom flat in Darwen, Georgina started the lease extension process as the eighty year deadline was quickly approaching. The legal work was concluded in November 2008. The landlord’s fees were kept to an absolute minimum.
Mrs W François was assigned a lease of a basement flat in Darwen in June 1997. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium could be for a 90 year lease extension. Comparative flats in Darwen with a long lease were worth £183,600. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £65 collected yearly. The lease lapsed in 2083. Having 57 years outstanding we approximated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £28,500 and £33,000 exclusive of professional charges.
In 2010 we were e-mailed by Mr and Mrs. Y Thompson who, having took over the lease of a one bedroom apartment in Darwen in June 2009. The dilemma was if we could approximate the premium would be to extend the lease by 90 years. Identical homes in Darwen with 100 year plus lease were valued about £245,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £50 collected monthly. The lease ended on 13 March 2094. Given that there were 68 years outstanding we estimated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 exclusive of professional charges.