Stop! Your Lease Extension in Macclesfield Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Macclesfield 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 Macclesfield 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 Macclesfield lease extension


Top reasons for lease extension now:

A Macclesfield lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

The value of Macclesfield leasehold residential property falls as the lease term becomes shorter and this will have an impact on its saleability. The cost of a lease extension can escalate substantially once the remaining term is less than 80 years

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

It is conventional wisdom that a property with over one hundred years remaining is worth approximately the same as a freehold. Where an further 90 years added to any lease with more than 30 years left, the residence will be worth the same as a freehold for many years ahead.

Banks and Building Societies will not lend on a short lease

Banks and building societies are making their criteria more stringent and many now require flats to have at least sixty if not seventy years remaining once the mortgage has expired. As plenty of flats in Macclesfield were built in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as a result many now require lease extensions if they wish to obtain a mortgage.

Lender Requirement
Birmingham Midshires Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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.
Leeds Building Society 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.
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.
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.

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

Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Macclesfield,the lease extension experts that we work with will always be prepared to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with Macclesfield valuers.

Macclesfield Lease Extension Case Summaries:

David, Macclesfield, Cheshire

During the course of the last few months David, came seriously near to the 80-year threshold with the lease on his two bedroom flat in Macclesfield. In buying his property two decades ago, the lease term was of little interest. Luckily, he recognised he would imminently be paying an escalated premium for a lease extension. David arranged for a lease extension just under the wire in August. David and the freeholder subsequently agreed on sum of £6,000 . If the lease had dropped to less than eighty years, the amount would have become more costly by at least £875.

Macclesfield case:

Dr O Gunderson took over the lease of a garden flat in Macclesfield in February 2008. The dilemma was if we could approximate the price would likely be to extend the lease by an additional years. Similar residencies in Macclesfield with a long lease were in the region of £255,000. The average ground rent payable was £50 collected quarterly. The lease expired in 2096. Considering the 70 years as a residual term we approximated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £10,500 and £12,000 exclusive of professional charges.

Macclesfield case:

Dr Reuben Harris was assigned a lease of a first floor apartment in Macclesfield in August 1996. The question was if we could approximate the premium would be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Comparative flats in Macclesfield with an extended lease were in the region of £246,800. The average amount of ground rent was £60 billed yearly. The lease finished in 2076. Considering the 50 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £44,700 and £51,600 not including expenses.