If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Thames View 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.
Main reasons to start your Thames View lease extension today:
A Thames View lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.
It’s a harsh certainty that a Thames View residential lease is a deteriorating asset. As the lease term diminishes so does the value of the property. The extent of this is not fully appreciated in the early years due to the reduction being disguised by increases in the Thames View property market.Where your lease has approximately ninety years left, you should start thinking about a lease extension. If lease term drops below 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 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 Thames View will be able to extend under the legislation; however a lawyer will be able to clarify if you are eligibility. In some situations you may not qualify. There are also strict deadlines and procedures to follow once the process is initiated and you will need to be guided by your conveyancing solicitor from beginning to end of the formalities.
An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold
It is conventional wisdom that a property with more than 100 years unexpired lease term is worth approximately the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the residence will be worth the same as a freehold for many years in the future.
Lending institutions will not loan monies with a short lease
The trend since the credit crunch has been for lenders to tighten lending requirements across the board - this has extended to the property over which the home loan is to be granted. This has meant the unexpired lease term required by mortgage companies has increased. In the past lenders would grant a mortgage on a lease with 25 years plus the term of the loan - routinely fifty year leases but those requirements evolved by the requirement for longer and longer leases - many now have a minimum term of 75 years as a prerequisite.
| Lender |
Requirement
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| Bank of Scotland |
Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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| Barnsley Building Society |
60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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| Birmingham Midshires |
Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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| Halifax |
Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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| Nationwide Building Society |
- Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years.
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).
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
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.
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 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- 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 is 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 55 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% 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 (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- 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 (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- 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 charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
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% 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 a proposed Lease Extension does not meet these requirements, however you feel that this is in the best interest for our mutual client, please refer all details to the Issuing Office for us to consider.
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.
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Why use us for your lease extension in Thames View?
The lawyers that we work with procure Thames View 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.
Thames View Lease Extension Example Cases:
Luke, Thames View, London
Last October Luke, came dangerously close to the eighty-year mark with the lease on his leasehold flat in Thames View. In buying his property twenty years ago, the lease term was of little significance. Thankfully, he became aware that he would imminently be paying an inflated amount for Extending the lease. Luke was able to extend his lease just under the wire in July. Luke and the landlord subsequently agreed on sum of £5,500 . If the lease had slipped to less than 80 years, the figure would have escalated by a minimum £900.
Thames View case:
Last Spring we were approach by Dr C Alexander , who
completed a purpose-built flat in Thames View in June 2012. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium could be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Comparable homes in Thames View with an extended lease were worth £171,800. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £55 invoiced every twelve months. The lease came to a finish in 2076. Having 50 years left we estimated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £32,300 and £37,400 not including fees.
Decision in Redbridge
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Thames View premises is
49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925
This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 61.36 years.