Owning a flat usually means owning a lease of the property, this is a ‘time-limited’ interest becoming shorter every day. The lease will usually be granted for a set period of time , ordinarily 99 or 125 years, although we have come across longer and shorter terms in St Asaph. Inevitably, the period of lease remaining reduces as time goes by. This may pass by relatively unnoticed when the property has to be disposed of or re-mortgaged. The shorter the lease the less it is worth and the more it will cost to obtain a lease extension. Qualifying leaseholders in St Asaph have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for an additional ninety years in accordance with legislation. You should give careful consideration before putting off your St Asaph lease extension. Putting off the cost now simply increases the price you will eventually incur to extend your lease
Leasehold properties in St Asaph with in excess of one hundred years left on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such situations there is often little upside in buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and service charges justify it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Bank of Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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 be at least 30 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset of the mortgage. |
| Santander | If the property is leasehold, the remaining unexpired lease term at the end of the new mortgage term must be at least 50 years where any part of the mortgage is on Interest Only and 30 years if all loan parts are on Capital Repayment and Interest. You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if:
|
| 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 |
Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in St Asaph,the lease extension solicitors that we work with will always be willing 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 Asaph valuers.
Tyler owned a conversion flat in St Asaph being marketed with a lease of just over 59 years remaining. Tyler on an informal basis approached his landlord being a well known Manchester-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord was prepared to grant an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent to start with set at £150 per annum and doubled every 25 years thereafter. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be due on a lease extension were Tyler to exercise his statutory right. Tyler procured expert advice and was able to make a more informed decision and deal with the matter and readily saleable.
Last Christmas we were contacted by Mrs Jordan Wilson , who owned a studio flat in St Asaph in November 2004. The dilemma was if we could approximate the price would likely be to extend the lease by 90 years. Comparative flats in St Asaph with an extended lease were worth £275,000. The average amount of ground rent was £65 billed monthly. The lease came to a finish on 17 September 2094. Considering the 68 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £13,300 and £15,400 exclusive of expenses.
Dr Jacob Anderson was assigned a lease of a newly refurbished apartment in St Asaph in June 2008. The dilemma was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would likely be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparative premises in St Asaph with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £208,600. The average amount of ground rent was £60 billed quarterly. The lease ran out on 6 August 2083. Considering the 57 years outstanding we estimated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £30,400 and £35,200 plus legals.