Stop! Your Lease Extension in Seaham Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Seaham 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 Seaham 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.

Top reasons for Seaham lease extension


Why you should start your Seaham lease extension today:

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

The re-sale value of a leasehold property in Seaham depends on how long the lease has left to run. If it is near to or less than eighty years you should anticipate problems on re-sale, so it is recommended to arrange for a lease extension prior to purchasing. It is ideal to start the process of extending the lease is when a lease still has 82 years remaining so that a lease extension can be finalised well before the eighty year cut off point. Current legislation enables Seaham qualifying lessees to an additional term of ninety years in addition to the unexpired term, at a notional rent (no ground rent). The reason of the valuation is to determine the premium payable by the lessee to the freeholder for the acquisition of the lease extension.

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

It is conventional wisdom that a property with in excess of 100 years remaining is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an further ninety years added to any lease with more than 45 years unexpired, the premises will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years in the future.

Lenders will not issue a mortgage with a short lease

Banks and building societies are really restricting their approach as regards to properties in Seaham with short leases. For example you might discover that their lending criteria are stricter and that they adjust interest rates depending on the unexpired lease term. Some may even refuse to lend completely, so if you wanted to sell, your remaining options would be to find a cash buyer, or hope for the best at auction thus limiting your market.

Lender Requirement
Halifax Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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.
Virgin 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.

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

Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Seaham,the lease extension experts that we work with will always be willing to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their experience and the close ties they enjoy with Seaham valuers.

Seaham Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Harvey, Seaham, County Durham

During the course of the last few months Harvey, started to get near to the 80-year mark with the lease on his studio apartment in Seaham. Having purchased his flat two decades ago, the lease term was of little interest. by good luck, he noticed he needed to take steps soon on Extending the lease. Harvey extended the lease at the eleventh hour in March. Harvey and the freeholder in the end agreed on the final figure of £5,500 . If he not met the deadline, the figure would have escalated by at least £900.

Seaham case:

Last year we were approach by Mr and Mrs. S Morel , who took over the lease of a first floor flat in Seaham in August 2007. We are asked if we could approximate the price could be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Comparative homes in Seaham with an extended lease were in the region of £260,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £50 billed every twelve months. The lease terminated in 2098. Taking into account 72 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £9,500 and £11,000 exclusive of costs.

Seaham case:

Last Summer we were e-mailed by Mr W Davies , who purchased a newly refurbished flat in Seaham in September 2002. We are asked if we could approximate the premium could be to extend the lease by 90 years. Comparative homes in Seaham with an extended lease were worth £256,600. The mid-range ground rent payable was £60 billed every twelve months. The lease terminated in 2078. Considering the 52 years outstanding we calculated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £39,000 and £45,000 exclusive of professional charges.