Stop! Your Lease Extension in Hetton Le Hole Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Hetton Le Hole 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 Hetton Le Hole 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.

Top reasons for Hetton Le Hole lease extension


Why you should start your Hetton Le Hole lease extension today:

A Hetton Le Hole lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

Unfortunately that a Hetton Le Hole residential lease is a deteriorating asset. As the lease term diminishes so does the value of the property. The extent of this is taken for granted in the early years due to the loss of value being disguised by increases in the Hetton Le Hole property prices.Where your lease has approximately ninety years left, you need to start thinking about a lease extension. An important point to note is that it is desirable for lease extension to take place before the term of the existing lease slips lower than eighty years - otherwise a higher premium will be payable. Most leasehold owners in Hetton Le Hole will be able to extend under the legislation; however a lawyer will be able to confirm whether you qualify for an extension. In some cases you may not qualify. There are also strict timeframes and procedures to follow once the process is initiated and you will need to be guided by your conveyancing solicitor from beginning to end of the process.

Hetton Le Hole property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold premises in Hetton Le Hole with over one hundred years left on the lease are often regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges justify it.

Lending institutions will not grant a mortgage with a short lease

Lenders are really restricting their approach as regards to properties in Hetton Le Hole with short leases. For example you might discover that their lending criteria are stricter and that they adjust interest rates depending on how many years are left on the lease. Some may even refuse to lend completely, so where you wanted to sell, your remaining options would be to find a cash purchaser, or try your luck at auction thus reducing your market.

Lender Requirement
Barclays plc Leases with less than 70 years at the commencement of the mortgage are not acceptable.

Leases with fewer than 70 years should only be referred to the issuing office where the following scenario applies, as discretion may be applied subject to bank approval:

• Property is located in any of the following prestigious developments: Cadogan, Crown, Grosvenor, Howard de Walden, Portman or Wellcome Trust Estates in Central London AND
• The value of the property subject to the short remaining term is £500,000 or more AND
• The loan to value does not exceed 90% for purchases, 90% like for like re-mortgages, 80% for re-mortgages with any element of capital raising and 80% for existing Barclays mortgage borrowers applying for additional borrowing;
Barnsley Building Society 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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 remaining from the start 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.

What makes us experts in Hetton Le Hole lease extensions?

Using our service will provide you increased control over the value of your Hetton Le Hole leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in terms of lease length should you want to sell. The lawyers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Hetton Le Hole Lease Extension Example Cases:

Ibrahim, Hetton Le Hole, Tyne And Wear

During the course of the last few months Ibrahim, came seriously close to the 80-year threshold with the lease on his one bedroom apartment in Hetton Le Hole. In buying his property 18 years ago, the unexpired term was of minimal importance. Fortunately, it dawned on him that he would imminently be paying an inflated amount for Extending the lease. Ibrahim arranged for a lease extension just under the wire in September. Ibrahim and the landlord in the end settled on sum of £5,000 . If the lease had gone lower than 80 years, the amount would have become more costly by at least £1,075.

Hetton Le Hole case:

In 2012 we were approached by Mr Nathaniel Martinez who, having owned a basement flat in Hetton Le Hole in June 1999. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) price would likely be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Comparative premises in Hetton Le Hole with a long lease were in the region of £230,800. The average ground rent payable was £60 billed annually. The lease elapsed in 2086. Having 60 years remaining we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £24,700 and £28,600 plus professional charges.

Hetton Le Hole case:

Last Summer we were called by Dr Natalie Rose , who owned a basement flat in Hetton Le Hole in August 2004. The question was if we could estimate the price could be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Comparative properties in Hetton Le Hole with 100 year plus lease were valued around £210,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £50 collected quarterly. The lease expired in 2106. Considering the 80 years unexpired we approximated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £8,600 and £9,800 not including professional charges.