Stop! Your Lease Extension in St Margarets Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in St Margarets are unaware that their original lawyer had a duty to warn them about future mortgageability and saleability issues. Before you pay thousands to your freeholder, let us audit your purchase history. You might have a claim that pays for your lease extension in full

If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in St Margarets has dropped toward the 80-year mark, your previous lawyer may be at fault. Our panel of experts specialise in recovering lease extension costs from negligent firms who failed to protect your investment.

Top reasons for St Margarets lease extension


Top reasons for lease extension now:

Increase your lease and increase your St Margarets property value

The closer a domestic lease in St Margarets nears to zero years unexpired, the the greater the reduction in the value of the property. Where the residual term has, over 99 years remaining then this decrease may be of little impact however there will become a stage when a lease has less than eighty years remaining as part of the premium you will incur is what is known as a marriage value. This could increase markedly the cost. It is the main reason why you should extend the lease without delay. The majority of flat owners in St Margarets will qualify for this right; nevertheless a conveyancing solicitor should be able to confirm whether you are eligible for a lease extension. In certain situations you may not qualify, the most common reason being that you have owned the property for less than two years.

St Margarets property with a lease extension is almost the same value as a freehold

It is conventional wisdom that a property with over one hundred years remaining is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an further ninety years added to any lease with more than 45 years remaining, the residence will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years ahead.

Mortgage lenders may decide not to loan monies on a short lease

Mortgage lenders have set criteria when lending monies secured on leasehold property. Some will simply refrain from lending at all once the remaining lease term goes beneath a certain unexpired lease term. Many Lending institutions will not regard property with an unexpired term of less than seventy years as adequate security. In addition to impacting your ability to sell, it is also relevant where you are intending to refinance your St Margarets property.

Lender Requirement
Bank of Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Barnsley Building Society 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
Leeds Building Society 85 years remaining from the start 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
Yorkshire 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.

Get in touch with one of our St Margarets lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

The lawyers that we work with procure St Margarets lease extensions and help protect your position. A lease extension can be arranged to be completed to coincide with a change of ownership so the costs of the lease extension are paid for using part of the sale proceeds. You really do need expert legal advice in this difficult and technical area of law. The conveyancing solicitor we work with provide it.

St Margarets Lease Extension Example Cases:

Jake, St Margarets, North London,

Jake was the the leasehold owner of a conversion apartment in St Margarets on the market with a lease of a little over 59 years unexpired. Jake informally contacted his freeholder being a well known London-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord was keen to give an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent initially set at £100 per annum and increase every twenty five years thereafter. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Jake to invoke his statutory right. Jake obtained expert legal guidance and was able to make an informed judgement and handle with the matter and readily saleable.

St Margarets case:

Mrs Rhiannon François acquired a garden apartment in St Margarets in January 2010. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord would be for a ninety year extension to my lease. Identical homes in St Margarets with 100 year plus lease were worth £295,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £45 collected every twelve months. The lease ended on 24 February 2100. Considering the 74 years remaining we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus expenses.

Decision in Hounslow

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a St Margarets flat is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 60.45 years.