Bellingham Lease Extension - Free Consultation

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Why you should start your Bellingham lease extension


Main reasons to start your Bellingham lease extension today:

A Bellingham lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

When it comes to domestic leasehold property in Bellingham, you are actually buying an entitlement to live in a property for a set period of time. These days flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Even though this may appear like a lengthy period of time, you may think about extending the lease sooner rather than later. The general rule 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. Anyone in Bellingham with a lease drawing near to 81 years unexpired should seriously consider extending it without delay. Once a lease has fewer than 80 years remaining, under the current statute the landlord is entitled to calculate and demand a larger amount, assessed on a technical calculation, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is payable.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

Leasehold premises in Bellingham with over one hundred years outstanding on the lease are often regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such circumstances there is often little to be gained by buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and service charges warrant it.

Lending institutions may decide not to finance a property with a short lease

Mortgage companies are really clamping down as regards to homes in Bellingham with short leases. For example you may find that their lending criteria are stricter and that they adjust interest rates depending on the unexpired lease term. Some may even refrain from lending completely, so where you needed to sell, your only options would be to find a cash buyer, or hope for the best at auction thus reducing the amount of prospective buyers.

Lender Requirement
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.
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.
National Westminster Bank Mortgage term plus 30 years.

For Shared Ownership, the remaining term of the lease must also be not less than 75 years at the outset of the mortgage.
TSB Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption.
Royal Bank of Scotland Mortgage term plus 30 years.

Get in touch with one of our Bellingham lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

Engaging our service gives you better control over the value of your Bellingham leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in respect 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.

Bellingham Lease Extension Case Studies:

Zachary, Bellingham, South East London,

Zachary was the the leasehold proprietor of a high value apartment in Bellingham being sold with a lease of fraction over fifty eight years outstanding. Zachary on an informal basis contacted his freeholder being a well known Manchester-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The landlord was prepared to agree an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years subject to a rise in the rent to £50 per annum. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Zachary to invoke his statutory right. Zachary procured expert legal guidance and secured an acceptable resolution without resorting to tribunal and readily saleable.

Bellingham case:

Last October we were e-mailed by Ms E Sánchez , who moved into a studio flat in Bellingham in July 2011. The dilemma was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord could be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Identical properties in Bellingham with 100 year plus lease were worth £246,800. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 invoiced yearly. The lease came to a finish on 12 August 2075. Taking into account 50 years remaining we estimated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £44,700 and £51,600 not including fees.

Decision in Lewisham

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Bellingham property is 75 Woolstone Road in February 2012. the decision of the Tribunal was that the appropriate amount to be paid to purchase the freehold was the sum of £17,711 . This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 68.28 and 158.