There is no doubt about it a leasehold flat or house in Hackney is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. Where the lease has, in excess of 100 years to run then this decrease may be of little impact that being said there will become a stage when a lease has under than eighty years remaining as part of the premium you will incur is what is termed as a marriage value. This could increase sharply the cost. It is the main reason why you should extend the lease without delay. The majority of flat owners in Hackney will meet the qualifying criteria; however a conveyancing solicitor should be able to confirm if you qualify to extend your lease. In certain situations you may not qualify, the most frequent reason being that you have owned the property for under two years.
It is conventional wisdom that a residential leasehold with over 100 years remaining is worth roughly 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.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| Godiva Mortgages | 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 remaing from the start of the mortgage. |
| Skipton Building Society | 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage For Buy to Let cases: - lettings must not breach any of the lessee’s covenants; and - consent of the lessor to lettings must be obtained if necessary |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
Retaining our service gives you better control over the value of your Hackney leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in terms of lease length should you wish to sell. The lawyers that we work with have a in-depth market knowledge handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
In the wake of 9 months of lengthy discussions with the landlord of her leasehold apartment in Hackney, Chelsea started the lease extension process as the 80 year deadline was swiftly coming. The transaction was concluded in September 2006. The freeholder’s costs were kept to an absolute minimum.
In 2011 we were approached by Mr Theo Cox who, having owned a first floor flat in Hackney in November 2010. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) compensation to the landlord would likely be for a ninety year lease extension. Similar properties in Hackney with a long lease were in the region of £285,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £45 collected monthly. The lease expired on 5 April 2092. Considering the 71 years outstanding we approximated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £12,400 and £14,200 plus fees.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Hackney property is 150 Amhurst Road in December 2013. The tribunal concluded that the premium to be paid by the applicant for the enfranchisement of the subject property was £43,500. This case related to 4 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 90 (or thereabouts).