Tooting 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 the lease gets more expensive. It is the case that most Tooting tenants have the right to extend their lease by an additional 90 years in accordance with the 1993 Leasehold Reform Act. Where you are a leasehold owner in Tooting you must check if your lease has between 70 and ninety years remaining. There are compelling reasons why a Tooting flat owner with a lease having around eighty years remaining should take action to make sure that a lease extension is effected without delay
Leasehold residencies in Tooting with over 100 years outstanding on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth 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 estate charges warrant it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must also be not less than 75 years at the outset of the mortgage. |
| Skipton Building Society | 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage For Buy to Let cases: - lettings must not breach any of the lessee’s covenants; and - consent of the lessor to lettings must be obtained if necessary |
| 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. |
Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Tooting,the lease extension solicitors that we work with will always be willing to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their experience and the close ties they enjoy with Tooting valuers.
Subsequent to lengthy discussions with the freeholder of her two bedroom apartment in Tooting, Georgia initiated the lease extension process as the eighty year deadline was rapidly coming. The lease extension was finalised in August 2008. The freeholder’s fees were kept to an absolute minimum.
Last Christmas we were phoned by Mr and Mrs. R Bernard , who moved into a one bedroom apartment in Tooting in November 2008. The dilemma was if we could estimate the premium could be to prolong the lease by an additional years. Similar properties in Tooting with an extended lease were valued about £173,800. The average ground rent payable was £60 billed annually. The lease expired in 2080. Considering the 55 years left we estimated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £31,400 and £36,200 exclusive of legals.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Tooting residence is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 62.94 years.