Why you should commence your Kensington lease extension

Why you should start your Kensington lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Kensington property value

When it comes to residential leasehold premises in Kensington, you are actually purchasing an entitlement to reside in a property for a prescribed time frame. These days flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Many leasehold owners are unconcerned as this seems like a lengthy period of time, you should consider a lease extension sooner as opposed to later. The general rule is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease increases markedly notably when there are less than 80 years left. Leasehold owners in Kensington with a lease nearing 81 years remaining should seriously consider extending it without delay. Once a lease has below 80 years outstanding, under the relevant Act the freeholder is entitled to calculate and demand a larger premium, assessed on a technical multiplication, known as “marriage value” which is due.

Kensington property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold properties in Kensington with in excess of 100 years unexpired on the lease are sometimes referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such situations there is often little upside in buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges justify it.

Lending institutions will not finance a property on a short lease

Banks and building societies do not grant a mortgage on short residential leases. You are likely to experience difficulties if you need to sell your flat in Kensington if the remaining lease term is under the criteria set by the majority of banks and building societies. Different mortgage companies have different requirements but in the main they are looking for an unexpired term of at least 65 years.

Get in touch with one of our Kensington lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

The conveyancers that we work with handle Kensington 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.

Kensington Lease Extension Case Studies:

Connor, Kensington, West London

Last Christmas Connor, started to get close to the eighty-year mark with the lease on his ground floor apartment in Kensington. Having purchased his home 18 years previously, the lease term was of little importance. As luck would have it, he realised he would soon be paying way over the odds for Extending the lease. Connor arranged for a lease extension just under the wire last April. Connor and the freeholder ultimately settled on sum of £6,000 . If the lease had slid below 80 years, the sum would have become more exhorbitant by at least £925.

Kensington case:

Dr Jamie Johnson took over the lease of a first floor flat in Kensington in April 2012. The question was if we could approximate the premium would be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Similar homes in Kensington with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £250,000. The average ground rent payable was £50 billed yearly. The lease lapsed in 2095. Given that there were 69 years outstanding we approximated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £9,500 and £11,000 exclusive of costs.