Stop! Your Lease Extension in Rottingdean Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Rottingdean 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 Rottingdean 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 Rottingdean lease extension


Top reasons for lease extension now:

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

The market value of a leasehold property in Rottingdean is impacted by how long the lease has remaining. If it is close to or fewer than eighty years you should foresee problems on re-sale, so it is advisable to arrange for a lease extension before buying. It is preferable to start the process of extending the lease is when the lease still has 82 years unexpired so that a lease extension can be concluded well before the 80 year threshold. Current legislation enables Rottingdean qualifying lessees to acquire a lease extension of ninety years in addition to the remaining length of the lease at a peppercorn rent (that is, rent free). The purpose of the valuation is to determine the premium payable by the lessee to the freeholder for the acquisition of the lease extension.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

It is conventional wisdom that a residential leasehold with more than 100 years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the residence will be worth the same as a freehold for many years ahead.

Banks and Building Societies will not grant a mortgage with a short lease

Whether or not the lease is be regarded as a short lease depends on the specific mortgage company, yet lending institutions start to get concerned at around 75 years. This may cause difficulties when you wish to market or refinance your flat as it will be practically unmortgageable. Even though you might not have an imminent intention to sell but when you do your buyer will need to wait 2 years before being able to initiate the legal procedures for a lease extension.

Lender Requirement
Bank of Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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.
Skipton Building Society 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage

For Buy to Let cases:
- lettings must not breach any of the lessee’s covenants; and
- consent of the lessor to lettings must be obtained if necessary
TSB Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption.
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.

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

Engaging our service gives you better control over the value of your Rottingdean leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in terms of lease length should you decide to sell. The lawyers that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Rottingdean Lease Extension Example Cases:

Kian, Rottingdean, East Sussex,

Kian was the the leasehold proprietor of a conversion apartment in Rottingdean on the market with a lease of a little over 72 years left. Kian informally spoke with his landlord a well known Bristol-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder was prepared to grant an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent initially set at £100 per annum and increase every twenty five years thereafter. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Kian to invoke his statutory right. Kian obtained expert advice and was able to make an informed decision and deal with the matter and readily saleable.

Rottingdean case:

In 2012 we were called by Ms V Howard who, having owned a garden apartment in Rottingdean in October 2001. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) premium could be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparable residencies in Rottingdean with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £223,400. The average ground rent payable was £60 collected monthly. The lease ran out on 12 January 2085. Taking into account 59 years outstanding we calculated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £27,600 and £31,800 exclusive of expenses.

Rottingdean case:

In 2012 we were contacted by Dr T Ramírez who, having bought a ground floor flat in Rottingdean in January 2002. We are asked if we could approximate the price could be to prolong the lease by an additional years. Identical flats in Rottingdean with 100 year plus lease were valued around £205,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £50 collected yearly. The lease concluded in 2105. Considering the 79 years left we approximated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 exclusive of fees.