Stop! Your Lease Extension in Liss Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Liss 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 Liss 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.

Why you should start your Liss lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Liss lease extension today:

A Liss leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

Unfortunately that a Liss residential lease is a wasting asset. As the lease term diminishes so does the value of the property. The extent of this is not fully appreciated in the early years due to the deflation being disguised by increases in the Liss property market.Once your lease gets to 85ish years, you should start considering a lease extension. If lease term dips under 80 years, you will end up paying half of the property's 'marriage value' in addition to the usual cost of the lease extension to the landlord. Marriage value is the amount of extra value that a lease extension will add the property The majority of flat owners in Liss will be able to extend under the legislation; however a conveyancing solicitor should be able to confirm if you are eligibility. In some situations you may not qualify. There are also strict timeframes and procedures to follow once the process has commenced and you will need to be guided by your lawyer throughout the formalities.

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

Leasehold residencies in Liss with over one hundred 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 premises. In such situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and service charges warrant it.

Mortgage lenders will not lend on a short lease

Mortgage lenders are less likely to issue a loan offer on a domestic property in Liss with a short lease. Some lenders simply refuse a mortgage on leases with less than 75 years left.

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.
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.
TSB Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption.
The Mortgage Works Minimum unexpired lease term is 70 years with 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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

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 70 years
- 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 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 70 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 1.0% 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
- 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
- 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 reviewed and altered on any review basis or methodology

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 1.0% 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 the 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.

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

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

Liss Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Kyle, Liss, Hampshire

Last Spring Kyle, came perilously near to the 80-year threshold with the lease on his studio apartment in Liss. In buying his property 19 years ago, the unexpired term was of no significance. by good luck, it dawned on him that he would soon be paying an escalated premium for a lease extension. Kyle was able to extend his lease at the eleventh hour last May. Kyle and the freeholder in the end agreed on the final figure of £5,000 . If he had missed the deadline, the premium would have become more exhorbitant by at least £1,025.

Liss case:

Mrs D Alexander completed a one bedroom flat in Liss in June 2008. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would be to extend the lease by ninety years. Comparable flats in Liss with an extended lease were in the region of £181,600. The mid-range ground rent payable was £55 billed quarterly. The lease expiry date was on 28 August 2078. Taking into account 52 years outstanding we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £30,400 and £35,200 not including fees.

Liss case:

Ms V Gómez was assigned a lease of a ground floor apartment in Liss in March 2007. The dilemma was if we could estimate the premium would be to extend the lease by ninety years. Similar flats in Liss with a long lease were worth £290,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £45 billed per annum. The lease concluded on 21 November 2098. Having 72 years unexpired we estimated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £11,400 and £13,200 exclusive of professional charges.