It’s an underpublicised truth that a North Walsham residential lease is a deteriorating asset. As the lease term reduces so does the value of the property. The extent of this is taken for granted in the first few years due to the deflation being disguised by increases in the North Walsham property prices.Where your lease has approximately ninety years left, you need to start considering a lease extension. If lease term drops below eighty years, you will then be required to pay 50% of the property's 'marriage value' on top of the usual cost of the lease extension to the landlord. The marriage fee is the amount of additional value that a lease extension will add the property Most leasehold owners in North Walsham will be able to extend under the legislation; however a lawyer should be able to clarify whether you qualify for an extension. In some cases you may not be entitled. There are also strict timetables and procedures to follow once the process is instigated and you will need to be guided by your conveyancer throughout the process.
It is generally considered that a property with more than 100 years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the premises will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years ahead.
| 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. |
| 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. |
| TSB | Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
Using our service gives you increased control over the value of your North Walsham leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in relation to the lease length should you decide to sell. The conveyancing solicitors that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Henry owned a conversion apartment in North Walsham being marketed with a lease of a little over 72 years outstanding. Henry on an informal basis contacted his freeholder a well known London-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord indicated a willingness to grant an extension taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a rise in the rent to £50 per annum. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Henry to invoke his statutory right. Henry procured expert legal guidance and secured satisfactory resolution informally and readily saleable.
Last Christmas we were contacted by Mr and Mrs. P Sánchez , who took over the lease of a one bedroom flat in North Walsham in October 1999. The question was if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord could be for a 90 year lease extension. Similar flats in North Walsham with 100 year plus lease were worth £225,400. The average amount of ground rent was £45 collected monthly. The lease came to a finish on 7 February 2090. Given that there were 64 years remaining we calculated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £15,200 and £17,600 plus expenses.
In 2010 we were e-mailed by Dr L Davies who, having purchased a garden flat in North Walsham in November 2009. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord would likely be for a 90 year lease extension. Identical flats in North Walsham with 100 year plus lease were worth £270,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £55 collected every twelve months. The lease expired on 3 July 2101. Given that there were 75 years left we estimated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £9,500 and £11,000 exclusive of costs.