If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Oakwood has dropped toward the 80-year mark, your previous lawyer may be at fault. Our panel of experts specialise in recovering lease extension costs from negligent firms who failed to protect your investment.
Why you should commence your Oakwood lease extension today:
Increase your lease and increase your Oakwood property value
It’s an underpublicised certainty that a Oakwood residential lease is a deteriorating asset. As the lease term diminishes so does the value of the property. The extent of this is taken for granted in the early years due to the deflation being disguised by increases in the Oakwood 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 half of the property's 'marriage value' on top of the usual cost of the lease extension to the landlord. Marriage value is the amount of extra value that a lease extension will add the property The majority of leasehold owners in Oakwood will be able to extend under the legislation; however a conveyancing solicitor will be able to confirm if you are eligibility. In some situations you may not be entitled. There are also strict timeframes and procedures to follow once the process has commenced and you will need to be guided by your conveyancing solicitor for the duration of the formalities.
Oakwood property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold
It is generally considered that a residential leasehold with more than one hundred years remaining is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to all but the shortest lease, the residence will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years in the future.
Mortgage lenders will not issue a mortgage with a short lease
Almost all banks and building societies require a lengthy amount of time remaining on any leasehold residence before they will contemplate providing a mortgage on it. Even if you don't require a mortgage, you should bear in mind that it is probable that someone intending to purchase your property in the future might well do, so where they are unable to obtain a mortgage, then the value of your property will likely be adversely impacted. Since 2008 the majority of mortgage lenders have increased the required minimum lease length that they are prepared to grant a mortgage on
| Lender |
Requirement
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|---|
| Bank of Scotland |
Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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| 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;
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| Barnsley Building Society |
60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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| Halifax |
Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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| Nationwide Building Society |
- Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years.
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).
Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:
Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.
New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.
SECOND HAND PROPERTIES
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period is less than or equal to 5 years
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 55 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial, etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI
NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined)
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn Ground Rent (Annual Rent) charges
For the avoidance of doubt, any New Build properties completed but not sold pre-30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the Lease conforms to the above guidance.
* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years.
Lease Extensions We require all Lease Extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where a proposed Lease Extension does not meet these requirements, however you feel that this is in the best interest for our mutual client, please refer all details to the Issuing Office for us to consider.
Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.
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What makes us experts in Oakwood lease extensions?
Lease extensions in Oakwood can be a difficult process. We recommend you procure guidance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area.
We provide you with an expert from a selection of lease extension solicitors, which ensures a targeted and efficient service as you have a dedicated port of call with an individual lawyer. Our lease extension solicitors have in-depth market knowledge dealing with Oakwood lease extensions and further afield, as well as any potential issues which may arise as well as problems with the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal.
Oakwood Lease Extension Example Cases:
Dylan, Oakwood, Leeds,
Dylan owned a 2 bedroom apartment in Oakwood on the market with a lease of a little over 59 years remaining. Dylan on an informal basis spoke with his freeholder being a well known Manchester-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord was prepared to grant an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent to start with set at £100 per annum and doubled every 25 years thereafter. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be payable on a lease extension were Dylan to exercise his statutory right. Dylan procured expert legal guidance and was able to make an informed decision and deal with the matter and sell the property.
Oakwood case:
In 2010 we were approached by Mr and Mrs. I Rose who, having moved into a one bedroom flat in Oakwood in September 1999. The dilemma was if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord could be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Similar premises in Oakwood with a long lease were in the region of £240,600. The mid-range ground rent payable was £60 collected annually. The lease terminated in 2088. Taking into account 62 years outstanding we calculated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £21,900 and £25,200 exclusive of fees.
Oakwood case:
Last Spring we were called by Ms L Miller , who
moved into a garden apartment in Oakwood in May 2003. The question was if we could estimate the premium would likely be for a ninety year lease extension. Similar residencies in Oakwood with an extended lease were worth £174,200. The average ground rent payable was £55 collected every twelve months. The lease end date was in 2077. Considering the 51 years unexpired we estimated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £31,400 and £36,200 exclusive of professional charges.