With a long leasehold property in Yate, you are actually purchasing an entitlement to live in a property for a prescribed time frame. These days flat leases typically tend to be for 99 years or 125. Even though this may appear like a lengthy period of time, you should think about extending the lease sooner rather than later. Accepted thinking is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease gets disproportionately more expensive notably when there are less than 80 years remaining. Leasehold owners in Yate with a lease drawing near to 81 years unexpired should seriously consider extending it as soon as possible. When the lease term has under 80 years left, under the relevant statute the landlord is entitled to calculate and demand a larger amount, based on a technical multiplication, known as “marriage value” which is payable.
Leasehold properties in Yate with over 100 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 property. In such circumstances there is often little upside in purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and estate charges justify it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Barclays plc | Leases with less than 70 years at the commencement of the mortgage should be declined (see exception below). Leases with greater than 70 years but fewer than 85 years remaining must be referred to issuing office. Leases with fewer than 70 years should only be referred to the issuing office where the following scenario applies, as discretion may be applied subject to bank approval: • Property is located in any of the following prestigious developments: Cadogan, Crown, Grosvenor, Howard de Walden, Portman or Wellcome Trust Estates in Central London AND • The value of the property subject to the short remaining term is £500,000 or more AND • The loan to value does not exceed 90% for purchases, 90% like for like re-mortgages, 80% for re-mortgages with any element of capital raising and 80% for existing Barclays mortgage borrowers applying for additional borrowing; |
| 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 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. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
Retaining our service gives you increased control over the value of your Yate leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in respect of lease length should you want to sell. The lawyers that we work with have a in-depth market knowledge handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Last Winter Isaac, came perilously close to the eighty-year threshold with the lease on his studio flat in Yate. Having purchased his flat 18 years previously, the lease term was of little concern. Luckily, he became aware that he needed to take action soon on Extending the lease. Isaac extended the lease just ahead of time last September. Isaac and the freeholder ultimately settled on a premium of £6,000 . If the lease had dropped lower than 80 years, the price would have become more costly by at least £850.
Last Spring we were approach by Mr and Mrs. R Davies , who completed a recently refurbished flat in Yate in April 2010. We are asked if we could approximate the price would likely be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Similar homes in Yate with an extended lease were in the region of £225,800. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 collected yearly. The lease finished on 8 November 2085. Taking into account 60 years remaining we calculated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £23,800 and £27,400 not including professional charges.
Last Summer we were called by Mr Caleb Pérez , who bought a first floor apartment in Yate in February 2006. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) price would likely be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Similar flats in Yate with an extended lease were worth £210,000. The average ground rent payable was £50 invoiced quarterly. The lease came to a finish in 2105. Having 80 years unexpired we approximated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £8,600 and £9,800 not including fees.