For anyone whose Honiton home is held on a long lease, the message is clear – if you do nothing, your property will ultimately revert to your landlord, leaving you empty-handed. The shorter the lease the less it is worth and the more expensive it will be to extend the lease.
Leasehold properties in Honiton with in excess of one hundred years outstanding on the lease are sometimes regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such situations there is often little to be gained by buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges warrant it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Leeds Building Society | 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage. |
| Lloyds TSB Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must be at least 75 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset 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. |
Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Honiton,the lease extension lawyers that we work with will always be happy to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with Honiton valuers.
Last October Archie, started to get close to the eighty-year mark with the lease on his one bedroom apartment in Honiton. Having bought his property 18 years previously, the length of the lease was of little interest. by good luck, he became aware that he would imminently be paying way over the odds for Extending the lease. Archie arranged for a lease extension just under the wire last September. Archie and the landlord who owned the flat above ultimately settled on an amount of £5,000 . If the lease had fallen lower than eighty years, the premium would have increased by at least £950.
Last Spring we were approach by Mr W Martínez , who was assigned a lease of a garden apartment in Honiton in February 2006. The dilemma was if we could estimate the premium would likely be to prolong the lease by an additional years. Identical flats in Honiton with an extended lease were in the region of £181,600. The mid-range ground rent payable was £55 invoiced every twelve months. The lease termination date was on 6 March 2078. Given that there were 52 years unexpired we estimated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £30,400 and £35,200 plus expenses.
Mr and Mrs. O Girard bought a newly refurbished apartment in Honiton in October 1998. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) price would be to extend the lease by ninety years. Comparable homes in Honiton with an extended lease were in the region of £285,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £45 billed every twelve months. The lease lapsed on 1 May 2098. Considering the 72 years remaining we approximated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £12,400 and £14,200 plus legals.