Owning a apartment usually means owning a lease of the property, which has a finite term of years. your lease will normally be granted for a set period of time , usually 99 or 125 years, although we have come across longer and shorter terms in Mortlake. Clearly, the length of lease left shortens as time goes by. This may pass by relatively unnoticed when the flat or house has to be disposed of or refinanced. The fewer the years remaining the less it is worth and the more expensive it will be to extend the lease. Qualifying leaseholders in Mortlake have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for an additional ninety years in accordance with legislation. Please give due deliberation before putting off your Mortlake lease extension. Holding off the cost now likely increases the price you will eventually have to pay to extend your lease
It is generally accepted that a residential leasehold with more than 100 years remaining is worth approximately the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to any lease with more than 30 years left, the premises will be worth the same as a freehold for many years in the future.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Accord Mortgages | 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. |
| Bank of Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Godiva Mortgages | 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. |
| Halifax | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| TSB | Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption. |
Retaining our service gives you enhanced control over the value of your Mortlake leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in terms of lease length should you decide to sell. The lawyers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Last October Sam, came critically close to the 80-year mark with the lease on his first floor flat in Mortlake. Having bought his flat two decades ago, the lease term was of no interest. Luckily, he became aware that he needed to take steps soon on Extending the lease. Sam was able to extend his lease at the eleventh hour in July. Sam and the freeholder in the end agreed on a premium of £6,000 . If he had missed the deadline, the figure would have escalated by a minimum £975.
Last Spring we were called by Dr Sebastian Lewis , who owned a one bedroom apartment in Mortlake in October 2006. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) premium would likely be for a 90 year lease extension. Identical premises in Mortlake with 100 year plus lease were worth £300,000. The average amount of ground rent was £50 collected quarterly. The lease finished on 13 November 2102. Taking into account 76 years unexpired we approximated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Mortlake flat is 19 St. Margarets Crescent in August 2010. the tribunal was of the view that the premium to be paid by the leaseholder for the freehold reversion was £51,983.00 This case related to 3 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 66.25 years.