It’s a harsh truth that a Widnes residential lease is a wasting asset. The lease value reduces in proportion to its lease length. The extent of this is taken for granted in the early years due to the reduction being disguised by increases in the Widnes property prices.Once your lease gets to 85ish years, you should start considering a lease extension. If lease term slips 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. Marriage value is the amount of additional value that a lease extension will add the property The majority of leasehold owners in Widnes will be able to extend under the legislation; however a conveyancer will be able to confirm whether you are eligibility. In some situations you may not qualify. There are also strict deadlines and procedures to be adhered to once the process is instigated and you will need to be guided by your lawyer throughout the formalities.
It is conventional wisdom that a property with over one hundred years remaining is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to any lease with more than 45 years remaining, the residence will be worth the same as a freehold for many years ahead.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Accord Mortgages | |
| Bank of Scotland | |
| Coventry Building Society | |
| Santander | |
| Royal Bank of Scotland |
The conveyancers that we work with undertake Widnes 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.
After protracted correspondence with the landlord of her ground floor apartment in Widnes, Caitlin initiated the lease extension process just as her lease was nearing the crucial eighty-year threshold. The lease extension was concluded in November 2007. The freeholder’s fees were kept to an absolute minimum.
Last Christmas we were e-mailed by Mrs Kayleigh Gray , who purchased a basement flat in Widnes in May 2010. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would likely be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Comparable properties in Widnes with a long lease were valued about £261,600. The mid-range ground rent payable was £60 billed yearly. The lease terminated in 2078. Given that there were 52 years outstanding we estimated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £39,000 and £45,000 plus fees.
In 2013 we were e-mailed by Dr Jackson Scott who, having was assigned a lease of a garden flat in Widnes in May 2012. We are asked if we could approximate the premium would be to extend the lease by an additional years. Similar properties in Widnes with an extended lease were worth £218,000. The average ground rent payable was £45 collected monthly. The lease concluded in 2089. Given that there were 63 years left we approximated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £17,100 and £19,800 plus legals.