Hoxton leases on residential properties are gradually losing value. if your lease has approximately 90 years remaining, you should start thinking about a lease extension. It is important to recognise that it is that it is financially advisable for the lease extension to take place before the term of the existing lease dips under eighty years - otherwise a higher amount will be payable. Flat owners in Hoxton will mostly be legally entitled to a lease extension; however a solicitor will check if you qualify. In some situations you may not qualify. There are prescribed timetables and steps to comply with once the process is triggered so it’s sensible to be guided by a conveyancer during the process.
Leasehold properties in Hoxton with more than one hundred years outstanding on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such situations there is often little to be gained by buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges warrant it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Barnsley Building Society | 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term. |
| 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. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must be at least 30 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. |
Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Hoxton,the lease extension experts that we work with will always be happy to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their experience and the close ties they enjoy with Hoxton valuers.
Last year Oscar, started to get near to the eighty-year threshold with the lease on his one bedroom flat in Hoxton. Having purchased his property two decades ago, the unexpired term was of little bearing. Fortunately, he realised he needed to take steps soon on a lease extension. Oscar extended the lease just under the wire last April. Oscar and the landlord subsequently agreed on a premium of £5,500 . If he had missed the deadline, the sum would have gone up by at least £925.
Ms Alicia Lambert owned a one bedroom flat in Hoxton in October 1998. We are asked if we could approximate the premium would be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Comparable properties in Hoxton with a long lease were valued around £225,800. The average amount of ground rent was £60 billed quarterly. The lease ended on 24 June 2086. Considering the 60 years left we approximated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £25,700 and £29,600 exclusive of legals.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Hoxton property is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72.39 years.