Owning a apartment usually means owning a lease of the property, this is a ‘time-limited’ interest becoming shorter every day. The lease will ordinarily be granted for a set period of time , ordinarily 99 or 125 years, although we have come across longer and shorter terms in St Mawes. Inevitably, the period of lease left shortens over time. This may pass by relatively unnoticed when the property needs to be disposed of or refinanced. The shorter the lease the lower the value of the property and the more it will cost to obtain a lease extension. Eligible leaseholders in St Mawes have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for an additional ninety years in accordance with statute. You should give due attention before delaying your St Mawes lease extension. Holding off that expense now simply increases the price you will ultimately incur for a lease extension
Leasehold premises in St Mawes with more than one hundred years remaining on the lease are sometimes referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such circumstances there is often little upside in buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges merit it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Barnsley Building Society | 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term. |
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must be at least 75 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset of the mortgage. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
The lawyers that we work with procure St Mawes 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 conveyancer we work with provide it.
Trailing unsuccessful discussions with the freeholder of her studio flat in St Mawes, Katie started the lease extension process as the 80 year threshold was fast approaching. The lease extension was finalised in January 2007. The landlord’s costs were kept to an absolute minimum.
Last Spring we were approach by Mr and Mrs. H Cooper , who completed a one bedroom apartment in St Mawes in March 2005. The dilemma was if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Comparative residencies in St Mawes with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £260,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £50 billed yearly. The lease lapsed in 2098. Taking into account 72 years unexpired we calculated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £9,500 and £11,000 not including costs.
In 2010 we were phoned by Dr Arthur Alexander who, having moved into a garden apartment in St Mawes in June 2008. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord could be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Similar residencies in St Mawes with an extended lease were valued about £261,600. The average ground rent payable was £60 billed yearly. The lease lapsed in 2078. Having 52 years remaining we estimated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £39,000 and £45,000 plus costs.