Stop! Your Lease Extension in Woodcote Green Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Woodcote Green 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 Woodcote Green 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.

Top reasons for Woodcote Green lease extension


Main reasons to start your Woodcote Green lease extension today:

A Woodcote Green lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

The nearer a residential lease in Woodcote Green gets to zero years unexpired, the the greater the reduction in the value of the property. Where the residual term has, over 100 years to run then this decrease may be fractional however there will become a stage when a lease has fewer than 80 years left as part of the premium you will incur is what is known as a marriage value. This could increase markedly the cost. It is the primary logic behind why you should consider extending sooner rather than later. Many flat owners in Woodcote Green will qualify for this right; however a lawyer can advise whether you qualify to extend your lease. In certain situations you may not qualify, the most frequent reason being that you have not been the owner of the property for two years.

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

It is generally considered that a residential leasehold with in excess of one hundred years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an further 90 years added to all but the shortest lease, the property will be worth the same as a freehold for many years in the future.

Mortgage lenders may not lend on a short lease

Banks and building societies are tightening their criteria and a meaningful number now expect flats to have at least sixty if not seventy years left at the expiry of the mortgage. Given that many flats in Woodcote Green were created in the fifties, sixties and seventies this means many now need to be extended if they if they are to be mortgageable.

Lender Requirement
Barnsley Building Society 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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.
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.
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.

Why use us for your lease extension in Woodcote Green?

Using our service will provide you better control over the value of your Woodcote Green leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in terms of lease length should you want to sell. The conveyancing solicitors that we work with have a in-depth market knowledge handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Woodcote Green Lease Extension Example Cases:

Archie, Woodcote Green, South London

14 months ago Archie, came dangerously close to the eighty-year threshold with the lease on his one bedroom flat in Woodcote Green. In buying his property 18 years previously, the unexpired term was of little importance. Luckily, it dawned on him that he needed to take action soon on Extending the lease. Archie was able to extend his lease just ahead of time last August. Archie and the landlord who owned the flat above in the end settled on the final figure of £6,000 . If the lease had dipped lower than eighty years, the premium would have become more exhorbitant by at least £900.

Woodcote Green case:

Dr Zoe Ramírez moved into a basement apartment in Woodcote Green in March 2002. The question was if we could approximate the price would likely be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Comparative homes in Woodcote Green with a long lease were valued about £176,200. The average ground rent payable was £65 billed per annum. The lease came to a finish in 2082. Taking into account 56 years remaining we calculated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £29,500 and £34,000 not including legals.

Decision in Barnet

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Woodcote Green flat is Ground Floor Maisonette 17 Milton Road in January 2014. The Tribunal determined the premium payable by the Applicant to the should be £13,299 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 71.73 years.