As the the remaining lease term of a Highbury residential lease lessens so does its value and therefore the value of your property. Where the lease has, more than 99 years to run then this decrease may be fractional nevertheless there will become a stage when a lease has under than 80 years unexpired as part of the premium you will incur is what is known as a marriage value. This could increase sharply the cost. It is the primary logic behind why you should extend the lease without delay. The majority of flat owners in Highbury will qualify for this right; that being said a conveyancing solicitor will be able to confirm whether 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 less than two years.
Leasehold premises in Highbury with in excess of 100 years unexpired on the lease are often 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 to be gained by purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and service charges justify it.
| 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. |
| Coventry Building Society | 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. |
| Halifax | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
| Yorkshire 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. |
The lawyers that we work with procure Highbury 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 conveyancer we work with provide it.
In the wake of 9 months of lengthy discussions with the freeholder of her ground floor apartment in Highbury, Nicole initiated the lease extension process as the 80 year mark was quickly advancing. The legal work was finalised in February 2009. The freeholder’s costs were kept to an absolute minimum.
In 2013 we were called by Dr U Miller who, having purchased a one bedroom flat in Highbury in September 1999. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparative flats in Highbury with a long lease were valued around £250,000. The average amount of ground rent was £50 billed quarterly. The lease lapsed on 19 April 2095. Having 70 years remaining we calculated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Highbury property is Lower Flat 16A Beatty Road in September 2012. The premium payable was £13,577. The terms of the lease has been agreed between the Applicants and the First Respondent and the Tribunal did not seek to disturb that agreement. This case related to 1 flat.