Stop! Your Lease Extension in Empingham Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Empingham 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 Empingham 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 commence your Empingham lease extension


Main reasons to start your Empingham lease extension today:

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

The re-sale value of a leasehold property in Empingham is impacted by how long the lease has left to run. If it is close to or fewer than eighty years you should envisage problems on re-sale, so it is recommended to arrange for a lease extension prior to buying. It is ideal to start the lease extension process when the lease still has 82 years remaining so that a lease extension can be finalised ahead of the 80 year mark. Leasehold Reform legislation enables Empingham qualifying lessees to obtain a new lease which will be for the current unexpired lease term plus a supplemental term of 90 years. The intention of the valuation is to determine the amount payable by the lessee to the freeholder for the acquisition of the lease extension.

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

It is conventional wisdom that a residential leasehold with over one hundred years remaining is worth approximately the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the residence will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years in the future.

Lending institutions will not issue a mortgage with a short lease

Mortgage companies are making their criteria more stringent and a meaningful number now expect flats to have at least 60 if not 70 years remaining once the mortgage has expired. Given that a number of flats in Empingham were created in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as a result many now need to be extended if they if they are to be mortgageable.

Lender Requirement
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;
National Westminster Bank Mortgage term plus 30 years.

For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must be at least 75 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset of the mortgage.
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.

Why use us for your lease extension in Empingham?

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

Empingham Lease Extension Case Studies:

Amy, Empingham, Rutland,

After lengthy correspondence with the landlord of her garden flat in Empingham, Amy initiated the lease extension process as the eighty year deadline was rapidly nearing. The transaction completed in May 2007. The landlord’s fees were kept to an absolute minimum.

Empingham case:

Last Winter we were e-mailed by Mr and Mrs. J Robinson , who owned a one bedroom apartment in Empingham in September 2012. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium would be for a 90 year lease extension. Comparable flats in Empingham with a long lease were in the region of £206,200. The average ground rent payable was £60 billed yearly. The lease came to a finish in 2082. Taking into account 56 years unexpired we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £32,300 and £37,400 not including fees.

Empingham case:

In 2012 we were e-mailed by Mr and Mrs. V Ali who, having took over the lease of a first floor apartment in Empingham in January 2012. We are asked if we could approximate the price could be for a 90 year lease extension. Similar residencies in Empingham with 100 year plus lease were valued about £300,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £50 collected quarterly. The lease expiry date was in 2102. Given that there were 76 years left we approximated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £8,600 and £9,800 plus expenses.