For anyone whose Epsom and Ewell property is held on a long lease, the message is clear – if you do nothing, your property will eventually revert to the freeholder, leaving you empty-handed. The fewer the years remaining the lower the value of the property and the more expensive it will be to extend the lease.
Leasehold properties in Epsom and Ewell with more than one hundred years outstanding on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and estate charges merit it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Bank of Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
| TSB | Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption. |
Using our service gives you enhanced control over the value of your Epsom and Ewell leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in relation to the lease length should you wish 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.
Last Summer Oscar, started to get close to the eighty-year mark with the lease on his one bedroom flat in Epsom and Ewell. In buying his flat 19 years previously, the lease term was of minimal relevance. Luckily, he recognised he would soon be paying an escalated premium for Extending the lease. Oscar arranged for a lease extension just under the wire in June. Oscar and the freeholder via the managing agents in the end agreed on a premium of £5,500 . If the lease had slipped lower than 80 years, the figure would have become more costly by at least £1,050.
Dr Sian Harris took over the lease of a purpose-built apartment in Epsom and Ewell in February 2008. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium could be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Similar properties in Epsom and Ewell with an extended lease were valued about £280,000. The average amount of ground rent was £55 collected per annum. The lease lapsed in 2102. Given that there were 77 years left we calculated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £13,300 and £15,400 not including expenses.
An example of a Lease Extension case 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 related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 60.43 years.