South Normanton Lease Extension - Free Consultation

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Main reasons to commence your South Normanton lease extension


Top reasons for lease extension now:

Increase your lease and increase your South Normanton property value

There is no doubt about it a leasehold flat or house in South Normanton is a wasting asset as a result of the diminishing lease term. Where the lease has, more than 100 years remaining then this decrease may be of little impact however there will become a point in time when a lease has fewer than eighty years unexpired 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 extend the lease without delay. Most flat owners in South Normanton will meet the qualifying criteria; that being said a lawyer can advise if you are eligible for a lease extension. In certain situations you may not qualify, the most common reason being that you have not been the owner of the property for two years.

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold residencies in South Normanton with in excess of one hundred years remaining on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such situations there is often little upside in buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and estate charges justify it.

Banks and Building Societies may decide not to issue a mortgage on a short lease

Almost all banks and building societies require a lengthy amount of time remaining on a leasehold residence before they will contemplate providing a mortgage on it. Regardless of whether you require a mortgage, you should be conscious that it is probable that someone wishing to buy your property in the future might well do, so if they are not able to secure a mortgage, then the market price of your property will likely suffer. Since 2008 most mortgage lenders have increased the required minimum lease length that they are prepared to grant a mortgage on

Lender Requirement
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.
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.

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.
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.

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

The conveyancers that we work with procure South Normanton lease extensions and help protect your position. A lease extension can be arranged to be completed to coincide with a change of ownership so the costs of the lease extension are paid for using part of the sale proceeds. You really do need expert legal advice in this difficult and technical area of law. The conveyancer we work with provide it.

South Normanton Lease Extension Example Cases:

Reuben, South Normanton, Derbyshire

In recent months Reuben, came critically close to the eighty-year mark with the lease on his ground floor flat in South Normanton. In buying his flat two decades ago, the unexpired term was of minimal interest. As luck would have it, he realised he would soon be paying an escalated premium for a lease extension. Reuben was able to extend his lease just in the nick of time in June. Reuben and the freeholder via the management company ultimately settled on the final figure of £6,000 . If the lease had slid lower than 80 years, the amount would have become more exhorbitant by at least £1,050.

South Normanton case:

Last May we were called by Mr and Mrs. T Lefèvre , who acquired a one bedroom apartment in South Normanton in January 2002. The dilemma was if we could estimate the price would likely be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Similar premises in South Normanton with a long lease were in the region of £275,000. The average amount of ground rent was £55 collected yearly. The lease came to a finish on 11 August 2101. Given that there were 76 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £9,500 and £11,000 plus expenses.

South Normanton case:

Last Winter we were called by Mrs Katie Bernard , who bought a garden flat in South Normanton in March 2008. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) price would be to extend the lease by an additional years. Similar homes in South Normanton with an extended lease were valued about £176,200. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £65 billed yearly. The lease end date was on 18 February 2081. Having 56 years outstanding we approximated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £29,500 and £34,000 not including professional charges.