Stop! Your Lease Extension in Lydiate and Melling Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Lydiate and Melling 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 Lydiate and Melling 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.

Top reasons for Lydiate and Melling lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Lydiate and Melling lease extension today:

A Lydiate and Melling leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

The nearer a residential lease in Lydiate and Melling nears to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. Where the lease has, beyond one hundred years remaining then this decrease may be negligible however there will become a stage when a lease has less than eighty years unexpired as part of the premium you will incur is what is termed as a marriage value. This could be significant. It is the main rational as to why you should consider extending without delay. Most flat owners in Lydiate and Melling will qualify for this right; that being said a conveyancing solicitor should be able to advise if you qualify to extend your lease. In limited situations you may not qualify, the most common reason being that you have owned the property for less than two years.

Lydiate and Melling property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold premises in Lydiate and Melling with in excess of one hundred years unexpired on the lease are sometimes regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and estate charges justify it.

Banks and Building Societies may decide not to loan monies with a short lease

Banks and building societies are distinct in their lending requirements. Some set the bar at seventy five years outstanding on the lease; others may be prepared to lend with anything in excess 70 years. With less than sixty years, it may be challenging to obtain a mortgage at all.

Lender Requirement
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.
Nationwide Building Society - Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years.
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).

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
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.

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 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- 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 is 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 55 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% 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 (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- 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 (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- 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 charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis

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% 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 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.
Royal Bank of Scotland Mortgage term plus 30 years.
Virgin 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.
Yorkshire Building Society 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage. Please ensure that you explain the implications of a short term lease to the borrower.

What makes us experts in Lydiate and Melling lease extensions?

Using our service gives you enhanced control over the value of your Lydiate and Melling leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in relation to the lease length should you want to sell. The conveyancing solicitors that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Lydiate and Melling Lease Extension Example Cases:

Emily, Lydiate and Melling, Merseyside,

Subsequent to unsuccessful negotiations with the landlord of her studio flat in Lydiate and Melling, Emily initiated the lease extension process just as the lease was approaching the critical 80-year mark. The legal work completed in October 2012. The freeholder’s charges were negotiated to approximately 550 GBP.

Lydiate and Melling case:

Last Spring we were phoned by Mr R Bailey , who was assigned a lease of a garden apartment in Lydiate and Melling in February 1995. We are asked if we could estimate the price could be to extend the lease by 90 years. Comparative premises in Lydiate and Melling with an extended lease were worth £232,800. The average ground rent payable was £45 collected quarterly. The lease end date was on 9 October 2091. Given that there were 65 years as a residual term we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £13,300 and £15,400 exclusive of expenses.

Lydiate and Melling case:

In 2010 we were e-mailed by Mr and Mrs. B Bailey who, having completed a garden apartment in Lydiate and Melling in November 1998. The dilemma was if we could estimate the premium would likely be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Similar flats in Lydiate and Melling with an extended lease were valued about £275,000. The average amount of ground rent was £55 billed yearly. The lease ran out in 2102. Taking into account 76 years as a residual term we approximated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £9,500 and £11,000 plus expenses.