With a residential leasehold premises in St Albans, you effectively rent it for a certain amount of time. These days flat leases typically tend to be for 99 years or 125. Many leasehold owners are unconcerned as this seems like a lengthy period of time, you should think about extending the lease sooner rather than later. Accepted thinking is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease increases markedly particularly when there are fewer than eighty years left. Residents in St Albans with a lease nearing 81 years left should seriously think of extending it without delay. Once the lease term has under eighty years outstanding, under the current legislation the landlord is entitled to calculate and charge a greater amount, assessed on a technical calculation, known as “marriage value” which is due.
Leasehold properties in St Albans with more than one hundred years outstanding on the lease are sometimes 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 to be gained by purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges merit it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Accord Mortgages | 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 |
Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in St Albans,the lease extension solicitors that we work with will always be prepared to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with St Albans valuers.
Trailing unsuccessful negotiations with the freeholder of her ground floor apartment in St Albans, Maisie started the lease extension process as the 80 year mark was fast nearing. The lease extension was finalised in June 2007. The landlord’s fees were restricted to less than 550 pounds.
Mr and Mrs. T Lewis was assigned a lease of a one bedroom flat in St Albans in February 2004. The question was if we could estimate the premium could be to extend the lease by ninety years. Comparable premises in St Albans with an extended lease were valued about £285,000. The average amount of ground rent was £45 invoiced monthly. The lease ended on 8 June 2097. Taking into account 71 years left we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £12,400 and £14,200 plus expenses.
Last November we were e-mailed by Mr V Díaz , who moved into a purpose-built apartment in St Albans in October 1996. We are asked if we could approximate the price would be to prolong the lease by an additional years. Similar flats in St Albans with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £230,800. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 collected quarterly. The lease expired in 2086. Given that there were 60 years unexpired we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £24,700 and £28,600 not including professional charges.