Stop! Your Lease Extension in Dawlish Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Dawlish 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 Dawlish 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 Dawlish lease extension


Main reasons to start your Dawlish lease extension today:

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

The re-sale value of a leasehold property in Dawlish is impacted by how many years the lease has left to run. If it is near to or fewer than 80 years you should anticipate problems on re-sale, so it is advisable to arrange for the lease to be extended prior to purchasing. It is preferable to commence the lease extension process when a lease still has 82 years to run so that all matters can be finalised in advance of the eighty year cut off point. Leasehold Reform legislation enables Dawlish qualifying lessees to obtain a lease extension of 90 years on top of the remaining length of the lease at a peppercorn rent (that is, rent free). The purpose of the valuation is to determine the sum payable by the lessee to the freeholder for the acquisition of the lease extension.

Dawlish property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold

It is generally accepted that a residential leasehold with over one hundred years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to any lease with more than 30 years remaining, the premises will be equivalent in value to a freehold for decades to come.

Lending institutions may not issue a mortgage on a short lease

Most mortgage lenders will not grant a mortgage on a lease with less than 70 years unexpired - although this varies from lender to lender. A purchaser will no doubt encounter difficulties to obtain a mortgage and this could result in your Dawlish property being difficult to dispose of or refinance.

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

What makes us experts in Dawlish lease extensions?

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

Dawlish Lease Extension Case Studies:

Sian, Dawlish, Devon,

After lengthy correspondence with the landlord of her studio flat in Dawlish, Sian initiated the lease extension process as the eighty year threshold was quickly advancing. The lease extension was concluded in April 2012. The landlord’s charges were kept to an absolute minimum.

Dawlish case:

Last Winter we were contacted by Mr and Mrs. O García , who was assigned a lease of a purpose-built flat in Dawlish in February 2011. The question was if we could estimate the price would likely be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Comparative homes in Dawlish with an extended lease were valued around £295,000. The average amount of ground rent was £50 billed yearly. The lease elapsed on 14 February 2101. Given that there were 75 years unexpired we calculated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £8,600 and £9,800 not including costs.

Dawlish case:

Mr and Mrs. J Clarke completed a first floor flat in Dawlish in May 1997. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would likely be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Similar flats in Dawlish with a long lease were valued around £250,400. The average ground rent payable was £65 collected monthly. The lease expiry date was in 2090. Given that there were 64 years unexpired we estimated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £19,000 and £22,000 not including expenses.