Sudbury leases on residential properties are gradually losing value. Where your lease has approximately ninety years left, you should start considering the need for a lease extension. 80 years is a significant number: when the remaining term of a lease dips below this level then you start incurring an additional element called marriage value. Flat owners in Sudbury will usually be legally entitled to a lease extension; however it’s a good idea to check with a conveyancing solicitor to check if you qualify. In some situations you may not qualify. There are prescribed timetables and steps to follow once the process is triggered so it’s best to be guided by a lawyer during the process.
Leasehold properties in Sudbury with more than one hundred years remaining on the lease are often regarded as a ‘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 purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service 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. |
| 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. |
| Halifax | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
The lawyers that we work with undertake Sudbury 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.
Samuel owned a conversion apartment in Sudbury being marketed with a lease of fraction over sixty years left. Samuel on an informal basis approached his freeholder being a well known Bristol-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord was prepared to agree an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent initially set at £200 per annum and doubled every 25 years thereafter. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Samuel to exercise his statutory right. Samuel obtained expert advice and secured satisfactory resolution without going to tribunal and readily saleable.
Dr R Turner completed a studio apartment in Sudbury in September 2002. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) premium would be for a ninety year lease extension. Identical homes in Sudbury with a long lease were in the region of £280,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £45 invoiced annually. The lease elapsed in 2095. Taking into account 70 years unexpired we approximated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £12,400 and £14,200 plus professional charges.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Sudbury premises is Ground Floor Flat 79 London Road in September 2012. the Tribunal held that the premium payable for the lease extension should be £7,636 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 74 years.