Owning a flat usually means owning a lease of the property, which has a set term of years. This lease will usually be granted for a fixed period of time , usually 99 or 125 years, although we have seen longer and shorter terms in Littlehampton. Inevitably, the length of lease left reduces over time. This may pass by relatively unnoticed when the flat or house has to be disposed of or re-mortgaged. The fewer the years remaining the less it is worth and the more expensive it will be to extend the lease. Eligible long lease owners in Littlehampton have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for an additional 90 years in accordance with legislation. Do give due deliberation before putting off your Littlehampton lease extension. Putting off the cost now only increases the price you will eventually incur to extend your lease
Leasehold premises in Littlehampton with more than 100 years outstanding on the lease are often regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges justify it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 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 30 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset of the mortgage. |
| Santander | If the property is leasehold, the remaining unexpired lease term at the end of the new mortgage term must be at least 50 years where any part of the mortgage is on Interest Only and 30 years if all loan parts are on Capital Repayment and Interest. You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if:
|
| Skipton Building Society | 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage For Buy to Let cases: - lettings must not breach any of the lessee’s covenants; and - consent of the lessor to lettings must be obtained if necessary |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
The lawyers that we work with handle Littlehampton 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 lawyer we work with provide it.
After unsuccessful discussions with the freeholder of her purpose-built apartment in Littlehampton, Lydia initiated the lease extension process as the 80 year threshold was rapidly approaching. The transaction completed in February 2013. The landlord’s fees were kept to an absolute minimum.
Mr C Laurent moved into a garden flat in Littlehampton in February 2007. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord would likely be for a 90 year lease extension. Comparative homes in Littlehampton with a long lease were valued around £300,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £50 billed annually. The lease ended on 3 October 2101. Having 75 years outstanding we estimated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £8,600 and £9,800 exclusive of legals.
Dr H Taylor was assigned a lease of a basement apartment in Littlehampton in June 2008. The dilemma was if we could approximate the premium could be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Comparative premises in Littlehampton with 100 year plus lease were valued around £250,400. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £65 invoiced per annum. The lease elapsed on 22 November 2090. Having 64 years as a residual term we estimated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £19,000 and £22,000 plus professional charges.