Main reasons to commence your Fairlop lease extension

Why you should start your Fairlop lease extension today:

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

Fairlop leases on residential properties are gradually losing value. The shorter the remaining lease term becomes, the less it is worth – and accordingly any extension of the lease gets more expensive. It is the case that most Fairlop tenants have the right to extend their lease by an additional 90 years by virtue of the 1993 Leasehold Reform Act. If you are a leasehold owner in Fairlop you would be well advised to investigate if your lease has between seventy and ninety years remaining. There are good reasons why a Fairlop flat owner with a lease having around eighty years left should take steps to make sure that a lease extension is put in place without delay

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold properties in Fairlop with in excess of one hundred years unexpired on the lease are sometimes regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such situations there is often little upside in buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges merit it.

Banks and Building Societies may not issue a mortgage on a short lease

The propensity since 2008 has been for lenders to tighten lending criteria across the board - this has extended to the property over which the mortgage is to be charged. This has resulted in the unexpired lease term required by lenders has increased. In the past mortgage companies would lend on a lease with 25 years plus the term of the loan - typically 50 year leases but those requirements evolved by the requirement for longer and longer leases - many now have a minimum term of 75 years as a prerequisite.

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

The conveyancers that we work with undertake Fairlop 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 conveyancing solicitor we work with provide it.

Fairlop Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Tommy, Fairlop, North East London,

Tommy was the the leasehold proprietor of a high value flat in Fairlop being sold with a lease of fraction over 72 years unexpired. Tommy informally contacted his freeholder a well known Bristol-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord was prepared to give an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of an increased rent to £100 per annum. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Tommy to exercise his statutory right. Tommy obtained expert legal guidance and secured an acceptable deal without going to tribunal and sell the property.

Fairlop case:

Last month we were contacted by Mrs L Lambert , who completed a one bedroom apartment in Fairlop in January 1995. The question was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would likely be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Similar homes in Fairlop with a long lease were worth £285,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £55 invoiced yearly. The lease termination date was in 2105. Given that there were 79 years as a residual term we approximated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 plus expenses.