Owning a apartment usually means owning a lease of the property, this is a ‘time-limited’ interest becoming shorter every day. This lease will ordinarily be granted for a fixed period of time , usually 99 or 125 years, although we have seen longer and shorter terms in Winterton. Clearly, the length of lease remaining reduces as time goes by. This is often overlooked and only becomes a problem when the property needs to be disposed of or refinanced. The fewer the years remaining the lower the value of the property and the more expensive it will be to extend the lease. Eligible leaseholders in Winterton have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for an additional ninety years under Leasehold Reform legislation. Do give due deliberation before delaying your Winterton lease extension. Holding off that expense now likely increases the price you will eventually have to pay to extend your lease
Leasehold properties in Winterton with more than one hundred years remaining on the lease are sometimes referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your premises. 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.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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. |
| Godiva Mortgages | 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. |
| Halifax | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
The conveyancers that we work with undertake Winterton 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.
Last October George, came very close to the 80-year threshold with the lease on his studio apartment in Winterton. In buying his property two decades ago, the unexpired term was of minimal bearing. Luckily, he realised he needed to take action soon on a lease extension. George was able to extend his lease just ahead of time in June. George and the landlord ultimately agreed on an amount of £5,500 . If he failed to meet the deadline, the premium would have escalated by a minimum £1,000.
In 2009 we were e-mailed by Mr V Hernández who, having was assigned a lease of a ground floor apartment in Winterton in July 2011. The dilemma was if we could approximate the premium could be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Identical flats in Winterton with 100 year plus lease were worth £255,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £50 billed per annum. The lease lapsed in 2097. Considering the 71 years as a residual term we calculated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £9,500 and £11,000 not including expenses.
Last year we were approach by Dr Callum Díaz , who purchased a purpose-built apartment in Winterton in September 2008. The question was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord could be for a 90 year lease extension. Identical homes in Winterton with a long lease were valued about £254,200. The mid-range ground rent payable was £60 billed every twelve months. The lease elapsed in 2077. Taking into account 51 years left we approximated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £43,700 and £50,600 plus costs.