Stop! Your Lease Extension in Mossley Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Mossley 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 Mossley 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 commence your Mossley lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Mossley lease extension today:

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

Owning a apartment usually means owning a lease of the property, which has a finite term of years. This lease will usually be granted for a set period of time , usually 99 or 125 years, although we have witnessed longer and shorter terms in Mossley. Clearly, the period of lease remaining shortens over time. This is often ignored and only becomes a problem when the property 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 Mossley have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for an additional ninety years in accordance with legislation. Please give careful deliberation before delaying your Mossley lease extension. Putting off that expense now likely increases the price you will ultimately incur to extend your lease

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

Leasehold residencies in Mossley with more than 100 years outstanding on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such situations there is often little to be gained by buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges justify it.

Lending institutions will not loan monies on a short lease

The definition of a short lease depends on the specific mortgage company, yet lending institutions start to get nervous at around 75 years. This will cause difficulties once you need to dispose of or refinance your flat as it will be effectively unmortgageable. Even though you might not have an imminent plan to sell but when you do your purchaser will need to hold off for two years before being able to start the legal procedures for an extension to the lease.

Lender Requirement
Chelsea 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.
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.
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: 
1. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is between 55 and 82 years, but the actual unexpired term differs by more than one year (whether longer or shorter); or
2. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is more than 82 years but the actual unexpired term is less than 82 years; or
3. no valuation report is provided.
 


We will accept a lease that has been extended under the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 provided statutory compensation would be available to the leaseholder.

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 Mossley lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Mossley,the lease extension lawyers that we work with will always be happy to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their experience and the close ties they enjoy with Mossley valuers.

Mossley Lease Extension Example Cases:

Owen, Mossley, Greater Manchester,

Owen owned a conversion apartment in Mossley being marketed with a lease of a few days over fifty eight years remaining. Owen on an informal basis approached his freeholder a well known Bristol-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord was prepared to grant an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years subject to an increased rent to £50 per annum. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be due on a lease extension were Owen to invoke his statutory right. Owen obtained expert legal guidance and was able to make a more informed decision and handle with the matter and ending up with a market value flat.

Mossley case:

Last Christmas we were e-mailed by Dr C Collins , who completed a purpose-built apartment in Mossley in March 2011. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium could be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Comparative residencies in Mossley with 100 year plus lease were valued about £225,400. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £45 invoiced per annum. The lease ended on 18 May 2090. Having 64 years remaining we approximated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £16,200 and £18,600 not including legals.

Mossley case:

Last Christmas we were contacted by Ms Emily Alexander , who owned a one bedroom flat in Mossley in September 2000. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord would likely be to extend the lease by an additional years. Comparable homes in Mossley with an extended lease were in the region of £270,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £55 billed yearly. The lease ended on 11 June 2101. Given that there were 75 years remaining we calculated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £9,500 and £11,000 not including fees.