Shildon Lease Extension - Free Consultation

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Main reasons to start your Shildon lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Shildon lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Shildon property value

As the the remaining lease term of a Shildon domestic lease diminished so does its value and therefore the value of your property. Where the lease has, beyond 100 years remaining then this decrease may be negligible that being said there will become a point in time 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 increase markedly the cost. It is the primary rational as to why you should consider extending sooner as opposed to later. Most flat owners in Shildon will meet the qualifying criteria; however a lawyer will be able to advise if you qualify to extend your lease. In certain situations you may not qualify, the most frequent reason being that you have owned the property for under two years.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

It is conventional wisdom that a property with over one hundred years remaining is worth roughly the equivalent 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 decades to come.

Mortgage lenders may not finance a property on a short lease

The definition of a short lease varies by mortgage company, yet banks and building societies start to get jittery at around 75 years. This may cause difficulties when you wish to market or refinance your flat as it will be effectively unmortgageable. You may have no immediate intention to sell but when you do your purchaser will have to hold off for 2 years before they can exercise the right to a an extension to the lease.

Lender Requirement
Birmingham Midshires Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
National Westminster Bank Mortgage term plus 30 years.
Nationwide Building Society - Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years.
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).

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
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.

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 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- 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 is 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 55 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% 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 (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- 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 (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- 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 charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis

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% 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 Issuing Office.
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.

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

Retaining our service will provide you enhanced control over the value of your Shildon leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in respect of lease length should you want to sell. The conveyancing solicitors that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Shildon Lease Extension Case Studies:

Harrison, Shildon, County Durham

14 months ago Harrison, started to get close to the 80-year mark with the lease on his leasehold apartment in Shildon. Having purchased his property two decades ago, the lease term was of little importance. Luckily, he realised he would imminently be paying an inflated amount for Extending the lease. Harrison was able to extend his lease just under the wire in May. Harrison and the landlord who owned the flat above in the end agreed on a premium of £5,000 . If the lease had descended lower than 80 years, the amount would have increased by a minimum £1,025.

Shildon case:

Last Christmas we were e-mailed by Mr and Mrs. W Norbert , who took over the lease of a one bedroom flat in Shildon in October 2012. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord would likely be for a 90 year lease extension. Similar properties in Shildon with 100 year plus lease were valued around £225,800. The mid-range ground rent payable was £60 billed yearly. The lease concluded in 2084. Taking into account 60 years unexpired we estimated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £25,700 and £29,600 plus expenses.

Shildon case:

Mr and Mrs. O Jones bought a basement flat in Shildon in May 1996. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would be for a ninety year lease extension. Comparative residencies in Shildon with 100 year plus lease were valued around £210,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £50 collected monthly. The lease ended in 2104. Given that there were 80 years left we approximated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £8,600 and £9,800 exclusive of professional charges.