Stop! Your Lease Extension in Dursley Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Dursley 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 Dursley 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.

Main reasons to start your Dursley lease extension


Top reasons for lease extension now:

Increase your lease and increase your Dursley property value

Dursley leases on domestic properties are gradually losing value. if your lease has approximately 90 years unexpired, you should start thinking about a lease extension. An important point to note is that it is financially advisable for a lease extension to be in place before the term of the existing lease drops lower than 80 years - otherwise a higher amount will be due. Leasehold owners in Dursley will mostly qualify for a lease extension; however It would be wise to check with a lawyer to check your eligibility. In some situations you may not qualify. There are also strict deadlines and formalities to follow once the process has commenced so it’s prudent to be guided by a conveyancing solicitor during the process.

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

Leasehold premises in Dursley with in excess of one hundred years unexpired on the lease are sometimes regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such circumstances there is often little upside in buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and estate charges justify it.

Banks and Building Societies may not loan monies on a short lease

Mortgage Lenders vary in their lending requirements. Some draw the line at seventy five years left on the lease; others may be willing to lend with anything over 70 years. With less than sixty years, it may be problematic to obtain a mortgage in the first place.

Lender Requirement
Chelsea Building Society 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.
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.
Nationwide Building Society - Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years.
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).

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
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.

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 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- 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 is 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 55 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% 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 (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- 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 (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- 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 charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis

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% 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 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.
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.

What makes us experts in Dursley lease extensions?

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

Dursley Lease Extension Case Studies:

Teddy, Dursley, Gloucestershire

In 2014 Teddy, came seriously close to the eighty-year mark with the lease on his two bedroom apartment in Dursley. In buying his property 18 years ago, the unexpired term was of no interest. As luck would have it, he realised he would imminently be paying an inflated amount for a lease extension. Teddy arranged for a lease extension just in the nick of time last April. Teddy and the landlord in the end agreed on sum of £5,000 . If the lease had gone to less than eighty years, the amount would have escalated by at least £1,025.

Dursley case:

Mrs O Ward completed a newly refurbished flat in Dursley in March 2008. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) compensation to the landlord could be for a ninety year lease extension. Comparative flats in Dursley with 100 year plus lease were valued around £218,000. The average ground rent payable was £45 invoiced annually. The lease lapsed in 2089. Given that there were 63 years outstanding we calculated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £17,100 and £19,800 not including costs.

Dursley case:

Last Winter we were phoned by Dr T Lee , who bought a newly refurbished apartment in Dursley in January 2012. The dilemma was if we could approximate the premium could be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Comparative properties in Dursley with a long lease were in the region of £270,000. The average amount of ground rent was £55 billed monthly. The lease concluded on 10 November 2100. Having 74 years as a residual term we approximated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £9,500 and £11,000 not including costs.