Strawberry Hill leases on residential properties are gradually losing value. Where your lease has in the region of ninety years remaining, you should start thinking about a lease extension. If lease term is less than 80 years, you will then be required to pay 50% of the property's 'marriage value' in addition to the usual cost of the lease extension to your landlord. Marriage value is the amount of additional value that a lease extension will add to the property. Flat owners in Strawberry Hill will mostly be legally entitled to a lease extension; however a solicitor will check if you qualify. In certain situations you may not qualify. There are prescribed deadlines and formalities to follow once the process has started so it’s prudent to be guided by a lawyer during the process.
Leasehold premises in Strawberry Hill with over one hundred years unexpired 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 premises. In such situations there is often little to be gained by buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges merit it.
| 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. |
| Leeds Building Society | 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage. |
| Lloyds TSB Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Santander | You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if: 1. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is between 55 and 82 years, but the actual unexpired term differs by more than one year (whether longer or shorter); or 2. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is more than 82 years but the actual unexpired term is less than 82 years; or 3. no valuation report is provided However, we will not accept a lease where on expiry of the mortgage: (i) less than 50 years remain and all or part of the loan is repaid on an interest-only basis: or (ii) less than 30 years remain and the loan is repaid on a capital and interest basis We will accept a lease that has been extended under the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 provided statutory compensation would be available to the leaseholder. |
Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Strawberry Hill,the lease extension solicitors 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 Strawberry Hill valuers.
Logan owned a conversion apartment in Strawberry Hill on the market with a lease of a few days over sixty years remaining. Logan informally contacted his freeholder a well known London-based freehold company for a lease extension. The freeholder indicated a willingness to grant an extension taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a rise in the rent to £200 annually. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be due on a lease extension were Logan to exercise his statutory right. Logan obtained expert legal guidance and secured satisfactory deal informally and sell the flat.
Mr and Mrs. T Rogers purchased a studio apartment in Strawberry Hill in May 2000. The question was if we could estimate the premium could be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Similar flats in Strawberry Hill with a long lease were valued around £225,800. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 invoiced per annum. The lease came to a finish in 2086. Considering the 60 years outstanding we approximated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £24,700 and £28,600 exclusive of fees.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Strawberry Hill 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 residue of the current lease was 60.45 years.