When it comes to residential leasehold premises in Seahouses, you are in fact renting it for a certain period of time. These days flat leases typically tend to be for 99 years or 125. Even though this may appear like a lengthy period of time, you may think about extending the lease sooner as opposed to later. Accepted thinking is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease increases markedly notably when there are fewer than 80 years remaining. Anyone in Seahouses with a lease drawing near to 81 years unexpired should seriously think of extending it sooner rather than later. When the lease term has less than 80 years outstanding, under the relevant statute the landlord is entitled to calculate and levy a larger amount, based on a technical calculation, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is due.
It is generally considered that a property with in excess of one hundred years unexpired lease term is worth approximately the same 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 many years ahead.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
Using our service gives you increased control over the value of your Seahouses leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in respect of lease length should you want to sell. The conveyancers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Ethan owned a high value flat in Seahouses on the market with a lease of fraction over 61 years outstanding. Ethan on an informal basis contacted his landlord a well known Bristol-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord was prepared to give an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent initially set at £150 per annum and increase every 25 years thereafter. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be payable on a lease extension were Ethan to exercise his statutory right. Ethan obtained expert legal guidance and secured satisfactory resolution without resorting to tribunal and ending up with a market value flat.
Last Spring we were e-mailed by Mr and Mrs. R Robinson , who completed a newly refurbished flat in Seahouses in August 1996. We are asked if we could estimate the premium would likely be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Identical premises in Seahouses with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £189,000. The average amount of ground rent was £55 billed yearly. The lease finished in 2079. Having 53 years remaining we calculated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £28,500 and £33,000 not including expenses.
In 2014 we were called by Ms Georgina Vincent who, having took over the lease of a recently refurbished apartment in Seahouses in September 2011. The question was if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would be for a 90 year lease extension. Comparable homes in Seahouses with an extended lease were worth £290,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £45 billed every twelve months. The lease expired on 23 October 2099. Having 73 years as a residual term we approximated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £9,500 and £11,000 plus fees.