Stop! Your Lease Extension in Red Lodge Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Red Lodge 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 Red Lodge 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.

Main reasons to commence your Red Lodge lease extension


Why you should commence your Red Lodge lease extension today:

A Red Lodge leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

Red Lodge leases on domestic properties are gradually losing value. if your lease has approximately 90 years left, you should start thinking about a lease extension. If lease term is less than eighty years, you will then have to pay 50% of the property's 'marriage value' in addition to the usual cost of the lease extension to your landlord. Marriage value is the amount of additional value that a lease extension will add to the property. Flat owners in Red Lodge will mostly qualify for a lease extension; however a solicitor should be able confirm if you qualify. In some circumstances you may not be entitled. There are prescribed deadlines and procedures to comply with once the process is triggered so it’s wise to be guided by a conveyancer during the process.

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

Leasehold premises in Red Lodge with more than 100 years left 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 property. In such situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and estate charges warrant it.

Lenders may decide not to issue a mortgage on a short lease

Most high street banks are making their criteria more stringent and many now want flats to have at least sixty if not seventy years left at the end of the mortgage. Given that a number of flats in Red Lodge were created in the fifties, sixties and seventies this means many now need to be extended if they wish to get a mortgage.

Lender Requirement
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;
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.
Coventry Building Society 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.
Lloyds TSB Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.

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

Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Red Lodge,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 Red Lodge valuers.

Red Lodge Lease Extension Case Studies:

Holly, Red Lodge, Suffolk,

Following lengthy discussions with the freeholder of her first floor flat in Red Lodge, Holly initiated the lease extension process as the 80 year mark was swiftly approaching. The legal work completed in August 2007. The freeholder’s fees were kept to an absolute minimum.

Red Lodge case:

Last month we were called by Mr and Mrs. W Díaz , who took over the lease of a newly refurbished apartment in Red Lodge in September 1997. We are asked if we could estimate the price would likely be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparable premises in Red Lodge with 100 year plus lease were worth £295,000. The average amount of ground rent was £45 billed quarterly. The lease concluded on 28 September 2100. Considering the 74 years as a residual term we calculated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional charges.

Red Lodge case:

In 2013 we were phoned by Mr Alfie Alexander who, having moved into a garden flat in Red Lodge in May 2009. The question was if we could estimate the premium would likely be for a ninety year lease extension. Comparable homes in Red Lodge with 100 year plus lease were worth £243,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £65 billed annually. The lease expired in 2089. Considering the 63 years outstanding we approximated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £20,000 and £23,000 plus expenses.