If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Reading 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 start your Reading lease extension today:
Increase your lease and increase your Reading property value
As the the remaining lease term of a Reading residential lease decreases so does its value and therefore the value of your property. Where the lease has, over 125 years to run then this decrease may be negligible nevertheless there will become a point in time when a lease has fewer than eighty years left as part of the premium you will incur is what is known as a marriage value. This could increase markedly the cost. It is the primary rational as to why you should extend the lease without delay. The majority of flat owners in Reading will qualify for this right; nevertheless a conveyancing solicitor should be able to advise whether you qualify to extend your lease. In certain situations you may not qualify, the most common reason being that you have not been the owner of the property for two years.
Reading property with a lease extension is almost the same value as a freehold
It is conventional wisdom that a residential leasehold with more than one hundred years unexpired lease term is worth approximately the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the residence will be worth the same as a freehold for many years ahead.
Lending institutions may not grant a mortgage on a short lease
Many banks and building societies will not grant a mortgage on a lease with under seventy years unexpired - although this varies from lender to lender. A purchaser will likely encounter difficulties to obtain a mortgage and this will result in your Reading property being difficult to sell or refinance.
| Lender |
Requirement
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|---|
| National Westminster Bank |
Mortgage term plus 30 years.
For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must be at least 30 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset 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.
|
| Santander |
If the property is leasehold, the remaining unexpired lease term at the end of the new mortgage term must be at least 50 years where any part of the mortgage is on Interest Only and 30 years if all loan parts are on Capital Repayment and Interest. You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if:
1. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is between 55 and 82 years, but the actual unexpired term differs by more than one year (whether longer or shorter); or
2. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is more than 82 years but the actual unexpired term is less than 82 years; or
3. no valuation report is provided.
We will accept a lease that has been extended under the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 provided statutory compensation would be available to the leaseholder.
|
| TSB |
Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption.
|
| Virgin |
85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.
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Get in touch with one of our Reading lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors
Engaging our service gives you better control over the value of your Reading leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in relation to the lease length should you decide to sell.
The conveyancing solicitors that we work with have a in-depth market knowledge handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Reading Lease Extension Case Studies:
Courtney, Reading, Berkshire,
Off the back of protracted discussions with the landlord of her basement apartment in Reading, Courtney commenced the lease extension process just as the lease was coming close to the critical 80-year threshold. The legal work was concluded in February 2006. The landlord’s costs were negotiated to approximately 600 pounds.
Reading case:
Mr and Mrs. T Morris took over the lease of a first floor flat in Reading in January 2005. The dilemma was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would be to prolong the lease by an additional years. Similar homes in Reading with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £295,000. The average amount of ground rent was £50 invoiced yearly. The lease terminated on 14 March 2101. Taking into account 75 years outstanding we approximated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 not including professional charges.
Reading case:
Last Christmas we were contacted by Mr and Mrs. Y Brooks , who
acquired a purpose-built flat in Reading in May 2008. The dilemma was if we could approximate the price could be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Similar properties in Reading with an extended lease were worth £250,400. The average amount of ground rent was £65 invoiced monthly. The lease ended on 19 May 2090. Considering the 64 years remaining we approximated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £19,000 and £22,000 exclusive of fees.