Stop! Your Lease Extension in East Dean Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in East Dean 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 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.

Why you should start your East Dean lease extension


Why you should start your East Dean lease extension today:

A East Dean lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

The nearer a residential lease in East Dean nears to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. Where the lease has, more than 125 years to run then this decrease may be fractional however there will become a point in time when a lease has less than eighty years remaining as part of the premium you will incur is what is termed as a marriage value. This could increase markedly the cost. It is the main rational as to why you should consider extending without delay. The majority of flat owners in East Dean will qualify for this right; that being said a conveyancer will be able to advise whether you are eligible for a lease extension. In limited situations you may not qualify, the most common reason being that you have not been the owner of the property for two years.

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

Leasehold residencies in East Dean with more than 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 property. In such situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges warrant it.

Lending institutions will not lend on a short lease

Lenders are making their criteria more stringent and many now expect flats to have a minimum of 60 if not 70 years remaining at the expiry of the mortgage. Given that a number of flats in East Dean were built in the fifties, sixties and seventies this means many now need to be extended if they if they are to be mortgageable.

Lender Requirement
Bank of Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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.
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.
Santander

If the property is leasehold, the remaining unexpired lease term at the end of the new mortgage term must be at least 50 years where any part of the mortgage is on Interest Only and 30 years if all loan parts are on Capital Repayment and Interest.

You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if: 
1. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is between 55 and 82 years, but the actual unexpired term differs by more than one year (whether longer or shorter); or
2. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is more than 82 years but the actual unexpired term is less than 82 years; or
3. no valuation report is provided.
 


We will accept a lease that has been extended under the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 provided statutory compensation would be available to the leaseholder.

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.

Get in touch with one of our East Dean lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in East Dean,the lease extension experts that we work with will always be prepared to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with East Dean valuers.

East Dean Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Henry, East Dean, East Sussex,

Henry owned a high value apartment in East Dean on the market with a lease of a few days over 61 years unexpired. Henry on an informal basis contacted his landlord a well known Manchester-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder indicated a willingness to grant an extension taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent to start with set at £200 per annum and doubled every twenty five years thereafter. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Henry to invoke his statutory right. Henry procured expert legal guidance and secured an acceptable deal without resorting to tribunal and ending up with a market value flat.

East Dean case:

Last year we were phoned by Mr and Mrs. Y Richardson , who acquired a purpose-built apartment in East Dean in June 2005. The question was if we could estimate the premium would be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparable premises in East Dean with an extended lease were in the region of £300,000. The average ground rent payable was £50 invoiced per annum. The lease terminated in 2102. Having 76 years left we calculated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional charges.

East Dean case:

Mr F David owned a one bedroom flat in East Dean in October 1995. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) price would be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparable homes in East Dean with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £260,200. The average amount of ground rent was £65 invoiced every twelve months. The lease came to a finish on 19 April 2092. Taking into account 66 years remaining we estimated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £16,200 and £18,600 not including expenses.