Stop! Your Lease Extension in Frenchay Common Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Frenchay Common 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 Frenchay Common 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 Frenchay Common lease extension


Why you should start your Frenchay Common lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Frenchay Common property value

Frenchay Common leases on domestic deteriorating in value. if your lease has approximately 90 years unexpired, you should start considering the need for a lease extension. An important point to note is that it is financially advisable for the lease extension to take place before the term of the current lease dips lower than 80 years - otherwise a higher premium will be payable. Leasehold owners in Frenchay Common will usually be legally entitled to a lease extension; however It would be wise to check with a conveyancing solicitor to confirm if you qualify. In some situations you may not qualify. There are prescribed timetables and steps to follow once the process is triggered so it’s best to be guided by a conveyancer during the process.

Frenchay Common property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold

It is conventional wisdom that a property with over one hundred years remaining is worth approximately the same as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to all but the shortest lease, the residence will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years in the future.

Lenders may decide not to loan monies with a short lease

Lending institutions have set criteria when loaning monies charged on leasehold homes. Some will simply refuse lend at all once the residual lease term goes lower than a specified unexpired lease term. Many Mortgage lenders will not consider property with an unexpired term of less than seventy years as adequate security. In addition to this being important when selling, it is also relevant if you are seeking to remortgage your Frenchay Common property.

Lender Requirement
Barnsley Building Society 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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.
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.
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.

Royal Bank of Scotland Mortgage term plus 30 years.

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

The conveyancing solicitors that we work with procure Frenchay Common 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.

Frenchay Common Lease Extension Example Cases:

Anna, Frenchay Common, Bristol,

After protracted discussions with the landlord of her studio apartment in Frenchay Common, Anna initiated the lease extension process as the eighty year deadline was swiftly advancing. The lease extension completed in January 2013. The freeholder’s costs were kept to an absolute minimum.

Frenchay Common case:

Last Christmas we were e-mailed by Mr N Murphy , who completed a purpose-built flat in Frenchay Common in February 2003. The question was if we could approximate the premium would likely be to extend the lease by 90 years. Identical homes in Frenchay Common with a long lease were worth £285,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £55 collected yearly. The lease ended in 2106. Given that there were 80 years remaining we approximated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £12,400 and £14,200 plus expenses.

Frenchay Common case:

Last Spring we were contacted by Mr John Parker , who purchased a studio apartment in Frenchay Common in August 2005. The dilemma was if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would be for a 90 year lease extension. Identical residencies in Frenchay Common with an extended lease were worth £198,400. The mid-range ground rent payable was £65 billed per annum. The lease finished on 11 November 2085. Given that there were 59 years remaining we calculated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £21,900 and £25,200 exclusive of expenses.