Stop! Your Lease Extension in Rhiwderin Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Rhiwderin 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 Rhiwderin 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 Rhiwderin lease extension


Why you should commence your Rhiwderin lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Rhiwderin property value

Unfortunately that a Rhiwderin residential lease is a deteriorating asset. As the lease term reduces so does the value of the property. The extent of this is not fully appreciated in the first few years due to the depreciation being disguised by increases in the Rhiwderin property market.Once your lease nears 85ish years, you need to start thinking about a lease extension. If lease term falls below eighty years, you will end up paying half of the property's 'marriage value' in addition to the usual cost of the lease extension to the landlord. The marriage fee is the amount of additional value that a lease extension will add the property Most leasehold owners in Rhiwderin will be able to extend under the legislation; however a lawyer should be able to clarify whether you qualify for an extension. In some cases 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 conveyancer from beginning to end of the process.

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

It is generally considered that a residential leasehold with over one hundred years remaining is worth approximately the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the property will be worth the same as a freehold for decades to come.

Banks and Building Societies may decide not to grant a mortgage on a short lease

Whether or not the lease is be regarded as a short lease depends on the specific mortgage company, yet mortgage lenders start to become nervous at around 75 years. This may cause difficulties as and when you come to sell or refinance your property as it will be practically unmortgageable. You might not have an immediate plan to sell but when you do your buyer must wait two years before they can commence the legal procedures for a lease extension.

Lender Requirement
Accord Mortgages 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.
Bank of Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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.
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 you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to 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.
TSB Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption.

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

Retaining our service will provide you increased control over the value of your Rhiwderin leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in relation to the lease length should you wish 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.

Rhiwderin Lease Extension Case Studies:

Gemma, Rhiwderin, Newport,

Following unsuccessful negotiations with the freeholder of her leasehold apartment in Rhiwderin, Gemma commenced the lease extension process as the eighty year threshold was fast nearing. The legal work completed in June 2015. The freeholder’s charges were kept to an absolute minimum.

Rhiwderin case:

In 2011 we were approached by Dr Catherine Davis who, having acquired a newly refurbished apartment in Rhiwderin in August 2011. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord could be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Comparative homes in Rhiwderin with a long lease were in the region of £242,600. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £45 collected every twelve months. The lease came to a finish in 2093. Given that there were 67 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £11,400 and £13,200 not including legals.

Rhiwderin case:

Dr Milo Green acquired a one bedroom flat in Rhiwderin in June 2004. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium could be for a 90 year lease extension. Comparative properties in Rhiwderin with a long lease were worth £280,000. The average ground rent payable was £55 collected quarterly. The lease finished in 2104. Considering the 78 years remaining we estimated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 not including fees.