Main reasons to start your St James lease extension

Top reasons for lease extension now:

Increase your lease and increase your St James property value

As the the remaining lease term of a St James domestic lease decreases so does its value and therefore the value of your property. Where the residual term has, beyond 99 years remaining then this decrease may be negligible nevertheless there will become a stage when a lease has fewer than eighty years unexpired as part of the premium you will incur is what is known as a marriage value. This could be significant. It is the main reason why you should extend the lease sooner rather than later. Most flat owners in St James will meet the qualifying criteria; that being said a lawyer can confirm if you qualify for a lease extension. In certain situations you may not qualify, the most frequent reason being that you have not been the owner of the property for two years.

St James property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold

It is generally accepted that a property with in excess of 100 years remaining is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to any lease with more than 45 years left, the property will be worth the same as a freehold for many years in the future.

Lending institutions may decide not to grant a mortgage on a short lease

The trend since over the last decade has been for banks to tighten lending requirements generally - this has extended to the property over which the home loan is to be granted. This has meant the unexpired lease term required by banks has increased. In the past lenders were content with 25 years plus the term of the loan - routinely 50 year leases but those requirements are being increasingly undermined by the requirement for lengthy leases - many now have a minimum term of 75 years as a prerequisite.

What makes us experts in St James lease extensions?

Engaging our service gives you better control over the value of your St James leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in respect of lease length should you wish to sell. The conveyancing solicitors that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

St James Lease Extension Example Cases:

Leah, St James, London,

After lengthy correspondence with the freeholder of her ground floor flat in St James, Leah commenced the lease extension process as the 80 year deadline was rapidly coming. The lease extension was finalised in November 2009. The landlord’s charges were restricted to a tad over 600 GBP.

St James case:

In 2014 we were called by Mr and Mrs. M Martínez who, having bought a one bedroom flat in St James in June 2009. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) premium would likely be to extend the lease by an additional years. Similar premises in St James with 100 year plus lease were valued around £216,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 collected every twelve months. The lease ran out in 2084. Having 58 years remaining we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £28,500 and £33,000 exclusive of costs.