Woodside leases on residential properties are gradually diminishing in value. The shorter the remaining lease term becomes, the less it is worth – and as a result any extension of the lease gets more expensive. Legislation has been in place for sometime now which entitles qualifying Woodside residential leaseholders to extend the terms of long leases. Where you are a leasehold owner in Woodside you would be well advised to check if your lease has between 70 and 90 years remaining. There are good reasons why a Woodside leaseholder with a lease having around 80 years remaining should take action to ensure that a lease extension is effected without delay
It is conventional wisdom that a property with over one hundred years remaining is worth approximately the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the property will be equivalent in value to a freehold for decades to come.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must be at least 75 years plus the term of the mortgage at the outset of the mortgage. |
| Skipton Building Society | 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage For Buy to Let cases: - lettings must not breach any of the lessee’s covenants; and - consent of the lessor to lettings must be obtained if necessary |
| TSB | Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
The conveyancers that we work with procure Woodside 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.
Hugo owned a studio flat in Woodside being sold with a lease of a few days over 61 years left. Hugo on an informal basis spoke with his freeholder a well known local-based freehold company for a lease extension. The landlord indicated a willingness to grant an extension taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent to start with set at £150 per annum and increase every 25 years thereafter. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be payable on a lease extension were Hugo to invoke his statutory right. Hugo obtained expert advice and secured satisfactory deal without resorting to tribunal and sell the flat.
In 2012 we were approached by Dr N García who, having was assigned a lease of a purpose-built apartment in Woodside in June 1997. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord would be for a 90 year lease extension. Similar residencies in Woodside with 100 year plus lease were worth £176,200. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £65 invoiced yearly. The lease expiry date was in 2082. Having 56 years unexpired we approximated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £29,500 and £34,000 exclusive of fees.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Woodside flat is Ground Floor Flat 14 Lodge Road in October 2013. the tribunal held that the price payable for the acquisition of the extended lease of the property should be £12,590 .00 This case related to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 69.46 years.