When it comes to domestic leasehold property in St Annes Park, you are actually buying a right to live in a property for a set period of time. In recent years flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Even though this may appear like a long period of time, you should consider a lease extension sooner as opposed to later. The general rule is that the shorter the number of years is the cost of extending the lease increases markedly especially when there are less than 80 years remaining. Leasehold owners in St Annes Park with a lease nearing 81 years left should seriously consider extending it sooner rather than later. When the lease term has less than 80 years remaining, under the current statute the freeholder can calculate and demand a greater premium, assessed on a technical calculation, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is payable.
It is conventional wisdom that a property with over one hundred years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to all but the shortest lease, the residence will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years ahead.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Halifax | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must also be not less than 75 years at the outset of the mortgage. |
| TSB | Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption. |
Using our service will provide you increased control over the value of your St Annes Park leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in terms of lease length should you want to sell. The lawyers that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Tyler was the the leasehold owner of a 2 bedroom apartment in St Annes Park being sold with a lease of fraction over 59 years left. Tyler informally spoke with his landlord being a well known London-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder was keen to grant an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years subject to 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 Tyler to exercise his statutory right. Tyler procured expert advice and was able to make an informed judgement and deal with the matter and readily saleable.
In 2011 we were contacted by Mr and Mrs. N Sharif who, having took over the lease of a studio apartment in St Annes Park in January 2011. We are asked if we could approximate the price would likely be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Comparable flats in St Annes Park with a long lease were in the region of £255,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £50 billed quarterly. The lease end date was in 2096. Given that there were 71 years left we calculated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.
Mr and Mrs. O Ricardo completed a studio flat in St Annes Park in April 2008. The dilemma was if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would likely be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Similar flats in St Annes Park with 100 year plus lease were worth £254,200. The average amount of ground rent was £60 collected annually. The lease lapsed on 3 January 2076. Given that there were 51 years outstanding we calculated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £43,700 and £50,600 plus costs.