Stop! Your Lease Extension in Stechford Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Stechford 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 Stechford 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.

Why you should start your Stechford lease extension


Top reasons for lease extension now:

A Stechford lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

Unfortunately that a Stechford residential lease is a deteriorating asset. As the lease term reduces so does the value of the property. The extent of this is taken for granted in the early years due to the deflation being disguised by increases in the Stechford property prices.Once your lease gets to 85ish years, you should start thinking about a lease extension. If lease term drops below 80 years, you will end up paying half of the property's 'marriage value' on top of the usual cost of the lease extension to the landlord. The marriage fee is the amount of extra value that a lease extension will add the property The majority of flat owners in Stechford will be able to extend under the legislation; however a conveyancer will be able to confirm if you are eligibility. In some situations you may not qualify. There are also strict deadlines and procedures to follow once the process is instigated and you will need to be guided by your conveyancer throughout the process.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

Leasehold properties in Stechford with in excess of 100 years outstanding on the lease are sometimes regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such situations there is often little to be gained by buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges justify it.

Banks and Building Societies will not grant a mortgage on a short lease

Most banks and building societies require a lengthy amount of time remaining on a leasehold residence before they will contemplate it as adequate security. Regardless of whether you require a mortgage, you should bear in mind that it is reasonable to assume that someone wanting to buy your property in the future might well do, so where they are unable to obtain a mortgage, then the financial worth of your property will likely be adversely impacted. Since 2008 many banks and building societies have increased the required minimum lease length that they are prepared to grant a mortgage on

Lender Requirement
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.
Lloyds TSB Scotland 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 75 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset of the mortgage.
The Mortgage Works Minimum unexpired lease term is 70 years with 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:

Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer

New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer

Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.

SECOND HAND PROPERTIES

Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 70 years
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period less than or equal to 5 years

Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 70 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1.0% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary

Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI

NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)

Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house
- Any lease which is subject to a ground rent (or annual rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a ground rent (or annual rent) being reviewed and altered on any review basis or methodology

Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1.0% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary

Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn ground rent (annual rent) charges

For the avoidance of doubt, any new build properties completed but not sold pre 30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the lease conforms to the above guidance

* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years

LEASE EXTENSIONS

We require all lease extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to the Issuing Office

Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.
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.

What makes us experts in Stechford lease extensions?

Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Stechford,the lease extension experts that we work with will always be prepared to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with Stechford valuers.

Stechford Lease Extension Case Studies:

Hugo, Stechford, Birmingham,

Hugo owned a 2 bedroom apartment in Stechford on the market with a lease of a few days over sixty years left. Hugo informally approached his landlord being a well known Manchester-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord indicated a willingness to grant an extension taking the lease to 125 years subject to a new rent at the outset set at £100 per annum and increase every 25 years thereafter. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be payable on a lease extension were Hugo to invoke his statutory right. Hugo obtained expert legal guidance and was able to make an informed decision and handle with the matter and readily saleable.

Stechford case:

Mr J Wright purchased a purpose-built apartment in Stechford in March 1998. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) price would be to extend the lease by an additional years. Comparative premises in Stechford with a long lease were in the region of £200,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £50 collected monthly. The lease ran out in 2103. Considering the 77 years outstanding we calculated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £8,600 and £9,800 not including costs.

Stechford case:

In 2009 we were approached by Mr and Mrs. R Miller who, having bought a first floor apartment in Stechford in February 2012. The dilemma was if we could estimate the premium would be to prolong the lease by an additional years. Comparable properties in Stechford with a long lease were worth £260,200. The average amount of ground rent was £65 collected yearly. The lease concluded on 3 April 2092. Given that there were 66 years left we estimated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £16,200 and £18,600 exclusive of legals.