Stop! Your Lease Extension in Hedge End and Botley Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Hedge End and Botley 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 Hedge End and Botley 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 Hedge End and Botley lease extension


Top reasons for lease extension now:

A Hedge End and Botley leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

As the the remaining lease term of a Hedge End and Botley domestic lease lessens so does its value and therefore the value of your property. If the lease has, in excess of 100 years to run then this decrease may be negligible nevertheless there will become a stage when a lease has under than 80 years remaining as part of the premium you will incur is what is known as a marriage value. This could increase markedly the cost. It is the primary rational as to why you should consider extending sooner rather than later. The majority of flat owners in Hedge End and Botley will qualify for this right; however a lawyer will be able to confirm if you qualify for a lease extension. In certain situations you may not qualify, the most frequent reason being that you have not been the owner of the property for two years.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

Leasehold properties in Hedge End and Botley with over one hundred years remaining on the lease are sometimes referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value 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 service charges merit it.

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

Lenders are really restricting their approach as regards to properties in Hedge End and Botley with short leases. For example you may find that their lending requirements are stricter and that they alter interest rates depending on the unexpired lease term. Some may even refrain from lending completely, so if you wanted to sell, your only options would be to find a cash buyer, or hope for the best at auction thus restricting the amount of potential purchasers.

Lender Requirement
Birmingham Midshires 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.
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.
Royal Bank of Scotland Mortgage term plus 30 years.
Virgin 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.

Get in touch with one of our Hedge End and Botley lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

Engaging our service will provide you increased control over the value of your Hedge End and Botley leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in terms of lease length should you decide to sell. The lawyers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Hedge End and Botley Lease Extension Example Cases:

Jennifer, Hedge End and Botley, Hampshire,

Subsequent to lengthy negotiations with the landlord of her garden flat in Hedge End and Botley, Jennifer initiated the lease extension process just as her lease was nearing the critical 80-year threshold. The legal work completed in April 2005. The landlord’s costs were restricted to slightly above 700 GBP.

Hedge End and Botley case:

Dr A Walker acquired a newly refurbished flat in Hedge End and Botley in May 2000. The dilemma was if we could approximate the price would be to prolong the lease by an additional years. Identical properties in Hedge End and Botley with an extended lease were in the region of £206,200. The average ground rent payable was £60 invoiced monthly. The lease expiry date was on 13 June 2082. Given that there were 56 years left we calculated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £32,300 and £37,400 not including legals.

Hedge End and Botley case:

In 2011 we were phoned by Mr J Carter who, having moved into a purpose-built flat in Hedge End and Botley in March 2007. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) price would be for a ninety year lease extension. Identical properties in Hedge End and Botley with 100 year plus lease were valued about £300,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £50 invoiced quarterly. The lease concluded on 3 July 2102. Given that there were 76 years unexpired we approximated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional charges.