Northwick Park leases on residential properties are gradually diminishing in value. The shorter the remaining lease term becomes, the less it is worth – and accordingly any extension of your lease gets more expensive. Legislation has been in place for sometime now which permits qualifying Northwick Park residential leaseholders to extend the terms of long leases. Where you are a leasehold owner in Northwick Park you must see if your lease has between seventy and 90 years remaining. There are good reasons why a Northwick Park leaseholder with a lease having around eighty years unexpired should take action to make sure that a lease extension is actioned without delay
Leasehold residencies in Northwick Park with in excess of 100 years remaining 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 property. In such situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and service charges warrant it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Bank of Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Barclays plc | Leases with less than 70 years at the commencement of the mortgage are not acceptable. 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; |
| 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. |
| Leeds Building Society | 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
The conveyancing solicitors that we work with handle Northwick Park 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 lawyer we work with provide it.
David was the the leasehold proprietor of a 2 bedroom flat in Northwick Park being marketed with a lease of a little over sixty years remaining. David on an informal basis approached his freeholder being a well known Bristol-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 at the outset set at £100 per annum and increase every 25 years thereafter. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be due on a lease extension were David to invoke his statutory right. David obtained expert legal guidance and secured an acceptable resolution without resorting to tribunal and sell the flat.
Last month we were phoned by Mr and Mrs. R Hill , who moved into a first floor apartment in Northwick Park in April 2005. We are asked if we could approximate the premium could be for a 90 year lease extension. Identical homes in Northwick Park with a long lease were in the region of £285,000. The average ground rent payable was £55 billed per annum. The lease came to a finish in 2106. Taking into account 80 years left we estimated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £12,400 and £14,200 plus legals.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Northwick Park premises 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 61.66 years.