If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in East Dean 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 commence your East Dean lease extension today:
Increase your lease and increase your East Dean property value
East Dean leases on residential deteriorating in value. if your lease has approximately ninety years remaining, you should start considering the need for a lease extension. If lease term falls under eighty years, you will then be required to pay 50% of the property's 'marriage value' on top of the standard 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 East Dean will usually qualify for a lease extension; however It would be wise to check with a conveyancing solicitor to confirm your eligibility. In certain circumstances you may not qualify. There are also strict timetables and formalities to comply with once the process has started so it’s sensible to be guided by a conveyancer during the process.
An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold
Leasehold residencies in East Dean with over one hundred years outstanding 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 home. In such circumstances there is often little to be gained by purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges merit it.
Banks and Building Societies may not loan monies with a short lease
Mortgage Lenders differ in their lending requirements. Some draw the line at seventy five years outstanding on the lease; others may be prepared to lend with anything with more than 70 years. With less than 60 years, it may be difficult to get a mortgage at all.
| Lender |
Requirement
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|---|
| Barclays plc |
Leases with less than 70 years at the commencement of the mortgage are not acceptable.
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;
|
| Halifax |
Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
|
| National Westminster Bank |
Mortgage term plus 30 years.
For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must be at least 30 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset of the mortgage.
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| 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 a proposed Lease Extension does not meet these requirements, however you feel that this is in the best interest for our mutual client, please refer all details to the Issuing Office for us to consider.
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.
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| Yorkshire 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.
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Get in touch with one of our East Dean lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors
Engaging our service will provide you increased control over the value of your East Dean leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in respect of lease length should you want to sell.
The conveyancing solicitors that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
East Dean Lease Extension Case Summaries:
Freya, East Dean, East Sussex,
Following unsuccessful correspondence with the freeholder of her one bedroom flat in East Dean, Freya initiated the lease extension process just as the lease was nearing the all-important 80-year threshold. The lease extension completed in August 2009. The freeholder’s fees were kept to an absolute minimum.
East Dean case:
Last Spring we were phoned by Mr and Mrs. Y Norbert , who
owned a garden flat in East Dean in January 2007. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Similar homes in East Dean with a long lease were worth £189,000. The average ground rent payable was £55 invoiced monthly. The lease concluded on 20 June 2079. Given that there were 53 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £28,500 and £33,000 exclusive of costs.
East Dean case:
Last month we were approach by Mr and Mrs. W Adams , who
moved into a ground floor apartment in East Dean in September 2006. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) price would be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Identical properties in East Dean with an extended lease were valued around £290,000. The average ground rent payable was £45 billed quarterly. The lease expired on 13 September 2100. Given that there were 74 years unexpired we estimated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £8,600 and £9,800 exclusive of professional charges.