Main reasons to start your North West London lease extension

Main reasons to commence your North West London lease extension today:

A North West London leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

With a domestic leasehold property in North West London, you effectively rent it for a certain amount of time. These days flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Even though this may appear like a long period of time, you should consider a lease extension sooner rather than later. The general rule is that the shorter the number of years is the cost of extending the lease becomes disproportionately more expensive especially when there are fewer than eighty years left. Leasehold owners in North West London with a lease approaching 81 years remaining should seriously think of extending it as soon as possible. Once a lease has fewer than 80 years remaining, under the relevant legislation the landlord can calculate and demand a greater premium, based on a technical multiplication, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is payable.

North West London property with a lease extension is almost the same value as a freehold

Leasehold properties in North West London with more than one hundred years outstanding on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such situations there is often little to be gained by buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and estate charges warrant it.

Banks and Building Societies will not lend on a short lease

Lending institutions have specific criteria when loaning monies secured on leasehold homes. Some will simply refrain from lending at all once the residual lease term slips beneath a specified unexpired lease term. Many Mortgage lenders will not consider property with a remaining below 75 years suitable security. As well as impacting your ability to sell, it is also relevant where you are intending to refinance your North West London property.

Get in touch with one of our North West London lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

Engaging our service will provide you enhanced control over the value of your North West London leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in terms of lease length should you want 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.

North West London Lease Extension Example Cases:

Abbie, North West London, London,

Following protracted discussions with the freeholder of her purpose-built apartment in North West London, Abbie commenced the lease extension process as the 80 year deadline was rapidly advancing. The transaction was finalised in September 2007. The landlord’s charges were restricted to a tad over 450 GBP.

North West London case:

Last Summer we were contacted by Mr and Mrs. T Patel , who completed a first floor apartment in North West London in November 2009. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord would be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Comparable homes in North West London with an extended lease were worth £260,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £50 collected annually. The lease ended on 13 August 2098. Given that there were 72 years remaining we estimated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.

North West London case:

Last October we were approach by Dr Kai Evans , who completed a one bedroom flat in North West London in September 2010. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord could be to extend the lease by 90 years. Similar properties in North West London with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £256,600. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 invoiced monthly. The lease lapsed in 2078. Considering the 52 years unexpired we estimated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £39,000 and £45,000 not including costs.