Owning a apartment usually means owning a lease of the property, which has a set term of years. The 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 North End. Clearly, the length of lease remaining reduces over time. This is often ignored and only raises itself as an issue when the flat or house needs to be disposed of or refinanced. The shorter the lease the lower the value of the property and the more expensive it will be to extend the lease. Eligible long lease owners in North End have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for a further 90 years under statute. Please give due attention before delaying your North End lease extension. Holding off the cost now simply increases the price you will ultimately have to pay to extend your lease
Leasehold properties in North End with more than 100 years remaining on the lease are sometimes regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such situations there is often little upside in buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges merit it.
| 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. |
| Barclays plc | Leases with less than 70 years at the commencement of the mortgage should be declined (see exception below). Leases with greater than 70 years but fewer than 85 years remaining must be referred to issuing office. Leases with fewer than 70 years should only be referred to the issuing office where the following scenario applies, as discretion may be applied subject to bank approval: • Property is located in any of the following prestigious developments: Cadogan, Crown, Grosvenor, Howard de Walden, Portman or Wellcome Trust Estates in Central London AND • The value of the property subject to the short remaining term is £500,000 or more AND • The loan to value does not exceed 90% for purchases, 90% like for like re-mortgages, 80% for re-mortgages with any element of capital raising and 80% for existing Barclays mortgage borrowers applying for additional borrowing; |
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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 |
| TSB | Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption. |
The lawyers that we work with undertake North End 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 conveyancing solicitor we work with provide it.
James owned a studio flat in North End being marketed with a lease of a little over fifty eight years left. James on an informal basis approached his freeholder being a well known local-based freehold company for a lease extension. The freeholder indicated a willingness to grant an extension taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent initially set at £200 per annum and doubled every 25 years thereafter. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were James to invoke his statutory right. James obtained expert advice and secured an acceptable resolution informally and readily saleable.
Ms Nicole Gunderson purchased a first floor apartment in North End in October 2009. The dilemma was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Comparative properties in North End with 100 year plus lease were valued around £275,000. The average ground rent payable was £55 collected annually. The lease concluded in 2101. Taking into account 76 years left we estimated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a North End property is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case was in relation to 13 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.