If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Windsor 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 Windsor lease extension today:
A Windsor leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.
Windsor leases on residential properties are gradually decreasing in value. The shorter the remaining lease term becomes, the less it is worth – and accordingly any extension of the lease gets more expensive. The majority of owners of residential leasehold property in Windsor enjoy rights under legislation to extend the terms of their leases. Where you are a leasehold owner in Windsor you really ought to check if your lease has between 70 and ninety years remaining. There are compelling reasons why a Windsor flat owner with a lease having around 80 years unexpired should take action to ensure that a lease extension is effected without delay
An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold
Leasehold residencies in Windsor with in excess of 100 years left on the lease are sometimes regarded as a ‘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 to be gained by buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges justify it.
Mortgage lenders will not loan monies with a short lease
The propensity since over the last decade has been for mortgage companies to tighten lending criteria generally - this has extended to the property over which the home loan is to be charged. This has resulted in the unexpired lease term required by banks has increased. In the past banks were content with 25 years plus the term of the loan - routinely 50 year leases but those requirements are being increasingly undermined by the requirement for lengthy 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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| Birmingham Midshires |
Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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| National Westminster Bank |
Mortgage term plus 30 years.
For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must be at least 30 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset of the mortgage.
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| TSB |
Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption.
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| 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 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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What makes us experts in Windsor lease extensions?
The conveyancers that we work with procure Windsor 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.
Windsor Lease Extension Case Summaries:
Alisha, Windsor, Berkshire,
Trailing protracted negotiations with the landlord of her ground floor apartment in Windsor, Alisha started the lease extension process just as the lease was approaching the crucial 80-year threshold. The transaction completed in November 2010. The freeholder’s fees were kept to an absolute minimum.
Windsor case:
Last Winter we were phoned by Ms G Gray , who
was assigned a lease of a one bedroom apartment in Windsor in February 1999. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) compensation to the landlord would likely be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Similar flats in Windsor with a long lease were valued about £256,600. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 invoiced annually. The lease concluded on 15 August 2078. Taking into account 52 years unexpired we approximated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £41,800 and £48,400 plus expenses.
Windsor case:
In 2014 we were called by Mr and Mrs. Y Wilson who, having was assigned a lease of a first floor flat in Windsor in September 1996. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) compensation to the landlord would likely be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparative residencies in Windsor with 100 year plus lease were valued around £218,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £45 billed annually. The lease lapsed on 9 February 2089. Having 63 years outstanding we approximated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £17,100 and £19,800 not including costs.