Stop! Your Lease Extension in Selsey Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Selsey 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 Selsey 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 start your Selsey lease extension


Why you should start your Selsey lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Selsey property value

The nearer a residential lease in Selsey gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. If the lease has, beyond 125 years to run then this decrease may be of little impact that being said there will become a stage when a lease has under than eighty years left as part of the premium you will incur is what is termed as a marriage value. This could be significant. It is the main logic behind why you should consider extending sooner than later. Many flat owners in Selsey will meet the qualifying criteria; that being said a conveyancer can advise if you qualify to extend your lease. In certain situations you may not qualify, the most common reason being that you have owned the property for less than two years.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

It is generally accepted that a property with over 100 years remaining is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to any lease with more than 35 years unexpired, the premises will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years ahead.

Mortgage lenders may not finance a property with a short lease

Most high street banks are tightening their criteria and a meaningful number now require flats to have at least sixty if not seventy years remaining at the expiry of the mortgage. Given that plenty of flats in Selsey were built in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as a result many now need to be extended if they if they are to be mortgageable.

Lender Requirement
Birmingham Midshires 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.
Santander You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if:
1. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is between 55 and 82 years, but the actual unexpired term differs by more than one year (whether longer or shorter); or
2. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is more than 82 years but the actual unexpired term is less than 82 years; or
3. no valuation report is provided
However, we will not accept a lease where on expiry of the mortgage:
(i) less than 50 years remain and all or part of the loan is repaid on an interest-only basis: or
(ii) less than 30 years remain and the loan is repaid on a capital and interest basis

We will accept a lease that has been extended under the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 provided statutory compensation would be available to the leaseholder.
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
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 Selsey lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

Using our service will provide you increased control over the value of your Selsey leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in relation to the lease length should you want to sell. The conveyancers that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Selsey Lease Extension Example Cases:

Rhiannon, Selsey, West Sussex,

Trailing unsuccessful discussions with the freeholder of her ground floor apartment in Selsey, Rhiannon initiated the lease extension process as the eighty year deadline was quickly advancing. The transaction was concluded in May 2011. The freeholder’s costs were negotiated to about four hundred GBP.

Selsey case:

In 2009 we were phoned by Dr Isaac Brooks who, having purchased a one bedroom flat in Selsey in June 1999. We are asked if we could estimate the price could be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Comparative homes in Selsey with a long lease were valued around £265,000. The average amount of ground rent was £50 collected every twelve months. The lease lapsed in 2100. Given that there were 74 years left we calculated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 not including professional charges.

Selsey case:

Mrs W Sharif completed a studio apartment in Selsey in January 2010. The question was if we could estimate the premium would likely be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Comparable premises in Selsey with a long lease were valued about £166,400. The average amount of ground rent was £60 invoiced per annum. The lease ran out in 2080. Considering the 54 years unexpired we estimated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £32,300 and £37,400 not including legals.