Trefnant Lease Extension - Free Consultation

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Why you should start your Trefnant lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Trefnant lease extension today:

A Trefnant leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

Trefnant 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 becomes more expensive. Most owners of residential leasehold property in Trefnant enjoy rights under legislation to extend the terms of their leases. If you are a leasehold owner in Trefnant you would be well advised to check if your lease has between seventy and 90 years left. In particular once the remaining lease term slips under eighty years, the premium due on any lease extension increases dramatically as an element of the premium you pay is what is known as a marriage value

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

Leasehold residencies in Trefnant with in excess of one hundred years remaining on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such situations there is often little to be gained by buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges justify it.

Lenders may decide not to issue a mortgage with a short lease

The definition of a short lease varies by mortgage company, yet lending institutions start to get concerned at around 75 years. This may cause difficulties when you come to dispose of or remortgage your property as it will be effectively unmortgageable. You may not have an imminent plan to sell but when you do your purchaser must wait a couple of years before they can exercise the right to a an extension to the lease.

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;
Halifax Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
TSB Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption.
The Mortgage Works Minimum unexpired lease term is 70 years with 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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

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 70 years
- 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 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 70 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 1.0% 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
- 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
- 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 reviewed and altered on any review basis or methodology

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 1.0% 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 you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to the Issuing Office
Royal Bank of Scotland Mortgage term plus 30 years.

Get in touch with one of our Trefnant lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Trefnant,the lease extension experts that we work with will always be happy to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their experience and the close ties they enjoy with Trefnant valuers.

Trefnant Lease Extension Example Cases:

Hollie, Trefnant, Denbighshire,

After unsuccessful correspondence with the landlord of her first floor apartment in Trefnant, Hollie commenced the lease extension process just as the lease was coming close to the all-important eighty-year deadline. The lease extension completed in October 2009. The landlord’s costs were restricted to under four hundred pounds.

Trefnant case:

Ms U Rodríguez acquired a one bedroom apartment in Trefnant in May 2000. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium would likely be for a 90 year lease extension. Identical residencies in Trefnant with an extended lease were worth £193,400. The average ground rent payable was £65 billed annually. The lease terminated in 2083. Given that there were 59 years as a residual term we approximated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £21,900 and £25,200 plus fees.

Trefnant case:

Mr Sebastian Jones was assigned a lease of a one bedroom flat in Trefnant in October 1997. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) compensation to the landlord could be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparative premises in Trefnant with an extended lease were worth £255,000. The average ground rent payable was £50 billed monthly. The lease lapsed on 23 February 2094. Taking into account 70 years remaining we calculated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £10,500 and £12,000 plus expenses.