Weymouth Lease Extension - Free Consultation

Before you progress with your lease extension in Weymouth
Get a quote from one of our lease extension experts with over 20 years experience.

Let them guide you for FREE on the various options available to you.

It may end up saving you thousands.

Top reasons for Weymouth lease extension


Top reasons for lease extension now:

Increase your lease and increase your Weymouth property value

There is no doubt about it a leasehold property in Weymouth is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. If the lease has, more than 100 years to run then this decrease may be of little impact however there will become a point in time when a lease has under than eighty years left as part of the premium you will incur is what is known as a marriage value. This could be significant. It is the primary logic behind why you should consider extending sooner rather than later. The majority of flat owners in Weymouth will qualify for this right; nevertheless a conveyancer will be able to confirm if you are eligible to extend your lease. In certain situations you may not qualify, the most frequent reason being that you have not been the owner of the property for two years.

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold properties in Weymouth with more than one hundred 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 property. In such situations there is often little upside in purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and estate charges justify it.

Banks and Building Societies may decide not to finance a property with a short lease

Lenders are really restricting their approach as regards to properties in Weymouth with short leases. For example you might discover that their lending requirements are stricter and that they adjust interest rates depending on how many years are left on the lease. Some may even refuse to lend completely, so if you wanted to sell, your remaining options would be to find a cash buyer, or try your luck at auction thus restricting the number of prospective buyers.

Lender Requirement
Chelsea 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.
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.
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 you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to Issuing Office.
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
TSB Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption.

What makes us experts in Weymouth lease extensions?

Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Weymouth,the lease extension solicitors that we work with will always be prepared to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with Weymouth valuers.

Weymouth Lease Extension Example Cases:

Chelsea, Weymouth, Dorset,

Following lengthy correspondence with the freeholder of her garden apartment in Weymouth, Chelsea started the lease extension process just as the lease was approaching the crucial eighty-year deadline. The legal work was concluded in July 2010. The freeholder’s charges were kept to an absolute minimum.

Weymouth case:

Dr Edward Thomas purchased a ground floor flat in Weymouth in March 1995. The dilemma was if we could approximate the premium would be for a 90 year lease extension. Comparable flats in Weymouth with an extended lease were in the region of £255,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £50 invoiced quarterly. The lease ran out on 7 September 2094. Given that there were 70 years as a residual term we calculated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 not including legals.

Weymouth case:

Mr and Mrs. U Ramírez acquired a ground floor apartment in Weymouth in March 2002. We are asked if we could approximate the price would be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparative homes in Weymouth with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £246,800. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 collected every twelve months. The lease lapsed in 2074. Taking into account 50 years unexpired we estimated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £44,700 and £51,600 not including costs.