Owning a flat usually means owning a lease of the property, this is a ‘time-limited’ interest becoming shorter every day. your lease will usually be granted for a prescribed period of time , ordinarily 99 or 125 years, although we have witnessed longer and shorter terms in Witney. Clearly, the length of lease remaining shortens as time goes by. This is often ignored and only raises itself as an issue when the flat or house needs to be sold or re-mortgaged. The fewer the years remaining the lower the value of the property and the more expensive it will be to extend the lease. Qualifying long lease owners in Witney have the right to extend the lease for an additional ninety years in accordance with statute. You should give due attention before delaying your Witney lease extension. Holding off that expense now only increases the price you will eventually have to pay for a lease extension
Leasehold properties in Witney with over one hundred years outstanding 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 property. In such circumstances there is often little upside in buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and service charges justify it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Accord Mortgages | 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. |
| Lloyds TSB Scotland | 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. |
| Yorkshire 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. |
Lease extensions in Witney can be a difficult process. We recommend you get guidance from a conveyancer and valuer with experience in this area.
We provide you with an expert from a selection of lease extension solicitors, which ensures a targeted and efficient service as you have a dedicated port of call with an individual lawyer. Our lease extension solicitors have a wealth of experience dealing with Witney lease extensions and further afield, as well as any potential issues which may arise as well as problems with the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal.
Last Autumn Ethan, started to get close to the eighty-year mark with the lease on his basement flat in Witney. Having purchased his flat 18 years previously, the unexpired term was of no relevance. Thankfully, he noticed he needed to take action soon on a lease extension. Ethan was able to extend his lease just ahead of time last August. Ethan and the landlord subsequently settled on an amount of £5,500 . If the lease had gone to less than eighty years, the amount would have increased by at least £875.
Dr F Martínez was assigned a lease of a purpose-built flat in Witney in August 2006. The question was if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord could be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Identical flats in Witney with a long lease were in the region of £260,200. The mid-range ground rent payable was £65 billed per annum. The lease finished on 8 June 2092. Given that there were 66 years left we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £16,200 and £18,600 exclusive of fees.
Last Autumn we were e-mailed by Mr and Mrs. R Michel , who took over the lease of a one bedroom flat in Witney in April 2000. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord could be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Comparative premises in Witney with an extended lease were valued about £198,800. The average amount of ground rent was £55 invoiced annually. The lease expired on 13 September 2081. Given that there were 55 years remaining we calculated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £33,300 and £38,400 not including fees.