With a domestic leasehold premises in St Leonards On Sea, you are actually purchasing a right to live in a property for a prescribed time frame. These days flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Even though this may appear like a lengthy 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 becomes disproportionately greater particularly when there are less than 80 years remaining. Leasehold owners in St Leonards On Sea with a lease approaching 81 years left should seriously think of extending it without delay. Once a lease has under eighty years outstanding, under the relevant statute the landlord is entitled to calculate and charge a larger premium, assessed on a technical computation, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is payable.
It is generally considered that a residential leasehold with in excess of one hundred years remaining is worth approximately the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the property will be worth the same as a freehold for decades to come.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Barclays plc | Leases with less than 70 years at the commencement of the mortgage should be declined (see exception below). Leases with greater than 70 years but fewer than 85 years remaining must be referred to issuing office. Leases with fewer than 70 years should only be referred to the issuing office where the following scenario applies, as discretion may be applied subject to bank approval: • Property is located in any of the following prestigious developments: Cadogan, Crown, Grosvenor, Howard de Walden, Portman or Wellcome Trust Estates in Central London AND • The value of the property subject to the short remaining term is £500,000 or more AND • The loan to value does not exceed 90% for purchases, 90% like for like re-mortgages, 80% for re-mortgages with any element of capital raising and 80% for existing Barclays mortgage borrowers applying for additional borrowing; |
| Barnsley Building Society | 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term. |
| 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. For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must also be not less than 75 years at the outset of the mortgage. |
| 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 |
Using our service will provide you increased control over the value of your St Leonards On Sea 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 in-depth market knowledge handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
In the wake of 6 months of protracted negotiations with the freeholder of her studio apartment in St Leonards On Sea, Jasmine commenced the lease extension process just as her lease was coming close to the critical 80-year threshold. The lease extension completed in January 2005. The freeholder’s fees were kept to an absolute minimum.
In 2011 we were approached by Mr and Mrs. L Parker who, having bought a basement apartment in St Leonards On Sea in May 2011. The question was if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord could be to extend the lease by ninety years. Comparable properties in St Leonards On Sea with 100 year plus lease were worth £285,000. The average ground rent payable was £55 collected per annum. The lease terminated in 2104. Considering the 79 years outstanding we estimated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £13,300 and £15,400 plus expenses.
Last May we were phoned by Mrs Lily Martinez , who completed a ground floor flat in St Leonards On Sea in July 2000. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would likely be for a ninety year lease extension. Similar flats in St Leonards On Sea with 100 year plus lease were worth £193,400. The mid-range ground rent payable was £65 collected annually. The lease terminated on 13 August 2084. Considering the 59 years outstanding we approximated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £21,900 and £25,200 exclusive of expenses.