With a domestic leasehold premises in Hendon, you are actually buying a right to reside in a property for a prescribed time frame. These days flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Even though this may appear like a long period of time, you should consider a lease extension sooner rather than later. Accepted thinking is that the shorter the number of years is the cost of extending the lease becomes disproportionately greater especially when there are less than eighty years left. Residents in Hendon with a lease approaching 81 years remaining should seriously think of extending it as soon as possible. When the lease term has fewer than eighty years left, under the current statute the freeholder can calculate and charge a larger premium, based on a technical multiplication, known as “marriage value” which is due.
Leasehold residencies in Hendon with more than 100 years outstanding 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 purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges warrant it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Accord Mortgages | 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. |
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Halifax | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Santander | 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 However, we will not accept a lease where on expiry of the mortgage: (i) less than 50 years remain and all or part of the loan is repaid on an interest-only basis: or (ii) less than 30 years remain and the loan is repaid on a capital and interest basis 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. |
The conveyancing solicitors that we work with handle Hendon 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.
Jacob was the the leasehold proprietor of a studio apartment in Hendon being sold with a lease of just over 72 years remaining. Jacob on an informal basis spoke with his landlord a well known local-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord indicated a willingness to grant an extension taking the lease to 125 years subject to a new rent at the outset set at £150 per annum and doubled every 25 years thereafter. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be payable on a lease extension were Jacob to invoke his statutory right. Jacob obtained expert legal guidance and was able to make an informed judgement and deal with the matter and readily saleable.
Mrs A Cox was assigned a lease of a studio apartment in Hendon in October 2003. We are asked if we could approximate the price would likely be to prolong the lease by an additional years. Comparable residencies in Hendon with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £300,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £50 collected monthly. The lease lapsed on 14 October 2101. Considering the 76 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £8,600 and £9,800 not including costs.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Hendon property is First Floor Flat 61 Wilberforce Road in March 2014. The premium payable was £10,130 and the case was remitted back to the Willesden County Court to effect the Vesting Order (Claim No 3W103100). This case affected 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 71 years.