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Why you should start your Northwick Park lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Northwick Park lease extension today:

A Northwick Park lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

As the length of the unexpired term of a Northwick Park domestic lease decreases so does its value and therefore the value of your property. If the residual term has, over 100 years remaining then this decrease may be of little impact that being said there will become a stage when a lease has under than eighty years left as part of the premium you will incur is what is termed as a marriage value. This could increase markedly the cost. It is the primary reason why you should consider extending without delay. Most flat owners in Northwick Park will qualify for this right; that being said a lawyer should be able to advise whether you qualify for a lease extension. In limited situations you may not qualify, the most common reason being that you have not been the owner of the property for two years.

Northwick Park property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold premises in Northwick Park with more than one hundred years left on the lease are often regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and service charges merit it.

Lending institutions will not finance a property with a short lease

The trend since the credit crunch has been for mortgage companies to tighten lending requirements generally - this has extended to the types of security over which the home loan is to be granted. This has meant the unexpired lease term required by mortgage companies has increased. In the past lenders would lend on a lease with 25 years plus the term of the loan - typically 50 year leases but those requirements are being increasingly undermined by the requirement for lengthy leases - many use a minimum term of 75 years as standard.

Lender Requirement
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.
Royal Bank of Scotland Mortgage term plus 30 years.
Virgin 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.
Yorkshire 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.

What makes us experts in Northwick Park lease extensions?

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

Northwick Park Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Natasha, Northwick Park, North West London,

Following lengthy negotiations with the freeholder of her leasehold flat in Northwick Park, Natasha initiated the lease extension process as the 80 year mark was fast approaching. The lease extension completed in August 2011. The freeholder’s charges were restricted to under 600 pounds.

Northwick Park case:

In 2012 we were approached by Mr Adam Rose who, having bought a garden flat in Northwick Park in November 2002. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) premium could be for a ninety year lease extension. Comparable premises in Northwick Park with 100 year plus lease were worth £270,000. The average ground rent payable was £55 collected monthly. The lease finished in 2100. Given that there were 75 years left we calculated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 exclusive of legals.

Decision in Harrow

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Northwick Park property is Ground Floor Flat 17 Frognal Avenue in April 2012. the Tribunal agreed that a value of £160,000 for the extended lease was appropriate. This case related to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 61.66 years.