Owning a apartment usually means owning a lease of the property, which has a finite term of years. This lease will usually be granted for a fixed period of time , ordinarily 99 or 125 years, although we have come across longer and shorter terms in Rowley Regis. Inevitably, the period of lease left shortens as time goes by. This may pass by relatively unnoticed when the property needs to be disposed of or refinanced. The fewer the years remaining the lower the value of the property and the more it will cost to obtain a lease extension. Qualifying long lease owners in Rowley Regis have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for an additional ninety years under legislation. Do give careful consideration before putting off your Rowley Regis lease extension. Putting off the cost now simply increases the price you will eventually incur to extend your lease
Leasehold residencies in Rowley Regis with over one hundred years unexpired on the lease are sometimes regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such circumstances there is often little upside in purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and estate charges justify it.
| 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; |
| Godiva Mortgages | 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. |
| 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. |
Retaining our service will provide you better control over the value of your Rowley Regis leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in relation to the lease length should you wish to sell. The lawyers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Trailing lengthy discussions with the freeholder of her purpose-built apartment in Rowley Regis, Francesca commenced the lease extension process as the 80 year mark was quickly advancing. The lease extension completed in August 2012. The freeholder’s costs were negotiated to below six hundred pounds.
Last Summer we were e-mailed by Mr and Mrs. G Mitchell , who moved into a basement apartment in Rowley Regis in February 2012. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) compensation to the landlord would be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Comparative flats in Rowley Regis with 100 year plus lease were worth £270,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £55 invoiced per annum. The lease finished in 2102. Taking into account 76 years unexpired we estimated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.
In 2012 we were called by Mrs Francesca Petit who, having purchased a garden apartment in Rowley Regis in May 1998. We are asked if we could estimate the premium would be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Similar homes in Rowley Regis with an extended lease were in the region of £176,200. The average amount of ground rent was £65 collected yearly. The lease lapsed on 27 July 2082. Given that there were 56 years as a residual term we approximated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £29,500 and £34,000 plus fees.