Northwood leases on residential properties are gradually diminishing in value. The shorter the remaining lease term becomes, the less it is worth – and as a result any extension of the lease gets more expensive. Legislation has been in place for sometime now allowing qualifying Northwood residential leaseholders to extend the terms of long leases. Where you are a leasehold owner in Northwood you really ought to see if your lease has between seventy and ninety years remaining. There are good reasons why a Northwood leaseholder with a lease having around eighty years unexpired should take steps to ensure that a lease extension is put in place without delay
Leasehold premises in Northwood with more than 100 years remaining on the lease are sometimes referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such circumstances there is often little upside in purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and service charges merit it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Chelsea 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. |
| 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. |
| Halifax | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. For a Lifetime Mortgage, the term must be no less than 150 years minus the age of the Borrower. |
| 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. |
Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Northwood,the lease extension solicitors that we work with will always be happy to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with Northwood valuers.
Michael owned a conversion flat in Northwood on the market with a lease of just over 61 years left. Michael informally approached his landlord being a well known local-based freehold company for a lease extension. The landlord indicated a willingness to grant an extension taking the lease to 125 years subject to a new rent to start with set at £100 per annum and increase every twenty five years thereafter. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Michael to invoke his statutory right. Michael procured expert legal guidance and was able to make a more informed judgement and deal with the matter and ending up with a market value flat.
Dr C Stewart completed a recently refurbished apartment in Northwood in July 2002. The dilemma was if we could estimate the premium would be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Identical residencies in Northwood with 100 year plus lease were worth £216,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 collected yearly. The lease end date was in 2079. Given that there were 58 years outstanding we estimated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £28,500 and £33,000 exclusive of expenses.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Northwood flat is Flats 8, 11 and 15 Craigmore Court 46 Murray Road in December 2013. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 8 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,438 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenants of Flat 11 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,791 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 15 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,638 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . This case affected 3 flats. The unexpired lease term was 71 years.