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Why you should commence your Yarm lease extension


Why you should commence your Yarm lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Yarm property value

As the length of the unexpired term of a Yarm domestic lease lessens so does its value and therefore the value of your property. Where the lease has, in excess of one hundred years to run then this decrease may be negligible 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 termed as a marriage value. This could be significant. It is the main rational as to why you should extend the lease without delay. Most flat owners in Yarm will qualify for this right; however a lawyer can confirm whether you qualify for a lease extension. In limited situations you may not qualify, the most frequent reason being that you have not been the owner of the property for two years.

Yarm property with a lease extension is almost the same value as a freehold

It is generally accepted that a residential leasehold with in excess of 100 years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to any lease with more than 30 years left, the residence will be worth the same as a freehold for many years in the future.

Mortgage lenders may not finance a property with a short lease

Most banks have tightened lending criteria in recent years and borrowers are finding it increasingly difficult to raise funding or re-mortgage against property with shorter lease terms, particularly under 75 years as they are regarded as insufficient for lending purposes.

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.
Lloyds TSB Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date 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
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
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 Yarm?

Using our service will provide you enhanced control over the value of your Yarm leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in relation to the lease length should you want to sell. The conveyancing solicitors that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Yarm Lease Extension Example Cases:

Harvey, Yarm, County Durham,

Harvey owned a studio apartment in Yarm on the market with a lease of a little over fifty eight years unexpired. Harvey informally approached his freeholder a well known London-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder was keen to give an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years subject to a rise in the rent to £125 per annum. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Harvey to invoke his statutory right. Harvey obtained expert advice and secured satisfactory resolution informally and sell the flat.

Yarm case:

Last Christmas we were called by Mr and Mrs. C Robinson , who owned a basement flat in Yarm in January 2004. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord could be to extend the lease by ninety years. Identical flats in Yarm with an extended lease were in the region of £275,000. The average amount of ground rent was £65 collected monthly. The lease concluded on 20 April 2091. Given that there were 68 years as a residual term we estimated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £12,400 and £14,200 not including professional charges.

Yarm case:

Last Christmas we were phoned by Mrs A Edwards , who moved into a purpose-built apartment in Yarm in March 2010. The dilemma was if we could estimate the premium would likely be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Identical flats in Yarm with 100 year plus lease were worth £208,600. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 collected per annum. The lease terminated in 2080. Considering the 57 years as a residual term we estimated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £30,400 and £35,200 exclusive of legals.