Stop! Your Lease Extension in Ravenglass Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Ravenglass are unaware that their original lawyer had a duty to warn them about future mortgageability and saleability issues. Before you pay thousands to your freeholder, let us audit your purchase history. You might have a claim that pays for your lease extension in full

If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Ravenglass 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.

Top reasons for Ravenglass lease extension


Main reasons to start your Ravenglass lease extension today:

A Ravenglass leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

With a residential leasehold property in Ravenglass, you are in fact renting it for a certain amount of time. In recent years flat leases typically tend to be for 99 years or 125. Many leasehold owners become complacent as this seems like a long period of time, you should think about a lease extension sooner as opposed to later. The general rule is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease gets disproportionately greater particularly once there are fewer than 80 years remaining. Anyone in Ravenglass with a lease nearing 81 years left should seriously consider extending it without delay. Once the lease term has under eighty years left, under the current legislation the landlord can calculate and charge a larger amount, assessed on a technical multiplication, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is payable.

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

It is conventional wisdom that a property with over 100 years unexpired lease term is worth approximately the same as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to all but the shortest lease, the property will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years in the future.

Mortgage lenders may not lend on a short lease

Lenders do not like short residential leases. You are likely to encounter difficulties if you need to sell your flat in Ravenglass if the remaining term of your lease is below the criteria set by most mortgage companies. Different lenders have different criteria but in the main theyrequire an unexpired term of at least seventy years.

Lender Requirement
Barnsley Building Society 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
Halifax Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Lloyds TSB Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
The Mortgage Works Minimum unexpired lease term is 70 years with 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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

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 70 years
- 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 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 70 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 1.0% 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
- 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
- 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 reviewed and altered on any review basis or methodology

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 1.0% 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 you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to the Issuing Office

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.
Virgin 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.

Get in touch with one of our Ravenglass lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

The lawyers that we work with handle Ravenglass 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.

Ravenglass Lease Extension Case Studies:

Felix, Ravenglass, Cumbria,

Felix owned a high value apartment in Ravenglass on the market with a lease of a little over 59 years remaining. Felix informally approached his freeholder a well known Manchester-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder indicated a willingness to grant an extension taking the lease to 125 years subject to an increased rent to £200 yearly. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be payable on a lease extension were Felix to invoke his statutory right. Felix procured expert legal guidance and secured satisfactory deal informally and ending up with a market value flat.

Ravenglass case:

Mr and Mrs. R Robinson was assigned a lease of a garden apartment in Ravenglass in May 2010. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) price could be to extend the lease by 90 years. Comparative premises in Ravenglass with an extended lease were valued about £173,800. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 invoiced quarterly. The lease finished on 8 March 2081. Having 55 years outstanding we estimated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £31,400 and £36,200 exclusive of legals.

Ravenglass case:

Mr and Mrs. C Clarke bought a basement flat in Ravenglass in January 2008. We are asked if we could approximate the premium could be to extend the lease by an additional years. Similar residencies in Ravenglass with 100 year plus lease were valued about £235,200. The mid-range ground rent payable was £45 billed annually. The lease ran out on 22 May 2092. Given that there were 66 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £12,400 and £14,200 exclusive of professional charges.