Strawberry Hill leases on residential properties are gradually losing value. The shorter the remaining lease term becomes, the less it is worth – and as a result any extension of your lease gets more expensive. It is the case that most Strawberry Hill tenants have the right to extend their lease by an additional ninety years under the 1993 Leasehold Reform Act. If you are a leasehold owner in Strawberry Hill you should investigate if your lease has between 70 and ninety years left. There are compelling reasons why a Strawberry Hill leaseholder with a lease having around eighty years remaining should take steps to ensure that a lease extension is effected without delay
It is conventional wisdom that a residential leasehold with more than 100 years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an further 90 years added to any lease with more than 45 years remaining, the property will be worth the same as a freehold for many years ahead.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Barclays plc | Leases with less than 70 years at the commencement of the mortgage are not acceptable. 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; |
| Coventry Building Society | 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. |
| 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 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 conveyancers that we work with handle Strawberry Hill 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.
Following protracted correspondence with the landlord of her first floor flat in Strawberry Hill, Bethany commenced the lease extension process just as her lease was approaching the crucial 80-year threshold. The lease extension was finalised in September 2010. The freeholder’s fees were kept to an absolute minimum.
Mr R White owned a one bedroom apartment in Strawberry Hill in August 2009. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium would likely be for a 90 year lease extension. Comparable homes in Strawberry Hill with 100 year plus lease were worth £210,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £50 collected yearly. The lease ended in 2106. Taking into account 80 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Strawberry Hill property 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 related to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 60.45 years.