Stop! Your Lease Extension in Winscombe Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Winscombe are unaware that their original lawyer had a duty to warn them about future mortgageability and saleability issues. Before you pay thousands to your freeholder, let us audit your purchase history. You might have a claim that pays for your lease extension in full

If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Winscombe 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.

Why you should commence your Winscombe lease extension


Why you should start your Winscombe lease extension today:

A Winscombe lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

The market value of Winscombe leasehold residential property falls as the lease term becomes shorter and this will have an impact on its saleability. The expense of a lease extension can escalate significantly once the remaining term is below than 80 years

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold premises in Winscombe with over 100 years outstanding on the lease are often regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such situations there is often little upside in purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and service charges justify it.

Mortgage lenders may decide not to issue a mortgage on a short lease

Almost all mortgage lenders require a lengthy amount of time left on a leasehold property before they will contemplate it as adequate security. Regardless of whether you need a mortgage, you should be conscious that it is reasonable to assume that someone intending to acquire your property in the future might well do, so where they can't obtain a mortgage, then the value of your property could suffer. In the last decade most mortgage lenders have increased the required minimum lease length that they are prepared to lend on

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.
Halifax Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Lloyds TSB Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
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

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.
Virgin 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.

Why use us for your lease extension in Winscombe?

The conveyancing solicitors that we work with handle Winscombe 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 conveyancing solicitor we work with provide it.

Winscombe Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Ibrahim, Winscombe, North Somerset,

Ibrahim owned a high value flat in Winscombe being marketed with a lease of just over 61 years unexpired. Ibrahim informally approached his landlord being a well known Manchester-based freehold company for a lease extension. The landlord was prepared to agree an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years subject to a rise in the rent to £125 yearly. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Ibrahim to exercise his statutory right. Ibrahim procured expert advice and secured satisfactory resolution informally and readily saleable.

Winscombe case:

Mr and Mrs. T Flores acquired a garden apartment in Winscombe in April 2011. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) premium would likely be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Similar premises in Winscombe with a long lease were in the region of £290,000. The average ground rent payable was £45 collected quarterly. The lease terminated on 12 June 2099. Having 73 years outstanding we estimated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £8,600 and £9,800 not including professional charges.

Winscombe case:

Last Winter we were contacted by Dr Eleanor Murphy , who acquired a purpose-built apartment in Winscombe in February 2005. The question was if we could estimate the price would likely be to extend the lease by an additional years. Identical residencies in Winscombe with a long lease were worth £240,600. The mid-range ground rent payable was £65 billed per annum. The lease ran out on 14 October 2088. Given that there were 62 years outstanding we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £21,900 and £25,200 plus professional charges.