Stop! Your Lease Extension in Epsom and Ewell Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Epsom and Ewell 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 Epsom and Ewell 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 Epsom and Ewell lease extension


Main reasons to start your Epsom and Ewell lease extension today:

A Epsom and Ewell leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

The market value of a leasehold property in Epsom and Ewell is impacted by how many years the lease has remaining. If it is close to or fewer than eighty years you should envisage problems on re-sale, so it is recommended to arrange for the lease to be extended before buying. It is preferable to start the lease extension process when the lease still has 82 years unexpired so that formalities can be concluded in advance of the 80 year mark. Statute enables Epsom and Ewell qualifying lessees to an additional term of ninety years over and above the existing term, at a nominal rent (zero ground rent). The purpose of the valuation is to determine the sum 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

Leasehold residencies in Epsom and Ewell with over one hundred years left 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 upside in buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and estate charges merit it.

Mortgage lenders will not loan monies on a short lease

Mortgage lenders have set criteria when lending monies secured on leasehold homes. Many will simply refuse lend at all once an unexpired lease term drops under a certain unexpired lease term. Many Mortgage lenders will not consider property with an unexpired term of less than 75 years as adequate security. As well as this being important when selling, it is also relevant if you are seeking to remortgage your Epsom and Ewell property.

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.
Leeds Building Society 85 years remaining from the start 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.
Santander 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
However, we will not accept a lease where on expiry of the mortgage:
(i) less than 50 years remain and all or part of the loan is repaid on an interest-only basis: or
(ii) less than 30 years remain and the loan is repaid on a capital and interest basis

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.

Get in touch with one of our Epsom and Ewell lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

The conveyancing solicitors that we work with undertake Epsom and Ewell lease extensions and help protect your position. A lease extension can be arranged to be completed to coincide with a change of ownership so the costs of the lease extension are paid for using part of the sale proceeds. You really do need expert legal advice in this difficult and technical area of law. The conveyancer we work with provide it.

Epsom and Ewell Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Alex, Epsom and Ewell, Surrey

Half a year ago Alex, started to get close to the eighty-year mark with the lease on his ground floor apartment in Epsom and Ewell. Having bought his property two decades ago, the length of the lease was of no importance. by good luck, he realised he would imminently be paying way over the odds for Extending the lease. Alex arranged for a lease extension just under the wire in April. Alex and the landlord who owned the flat above subsequently settled on the final figure of £6,000 . If he not met the deadline, the price would have become more costly by at least £925.

Epsom and Ewell case:

Last Winter we were contacted by Dr Ella Campbell , who acquired a purpose-built flat in Epsom and Ewell in June 1996. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord could be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Similar flats in Epsom and Ewell with an extended lease were worth £176,200. The mid-range ground rent payable was £65 invoiced yearly. The lease terminated in 2082. Given that there were 56 years as a residual term we approximated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £29,500 and £34,000 exclusive of professional charges.

Decision in Sutton

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Epsom and Ewell premises is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case was in relation to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 60.43 years.