Belsize Park leases on residential properties are gradually losing 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. It is the case that most Belsize Park tenants have the right to extend their lease by an additional ninety years in accordance with the 1993 Leasehold Reform Act. If you are a leasehold owner in Belsize Park you should check if your lease has between 70 and 90 years remaining. There are good reasons why a Belsize Park flat owner with a lease having around 80 years left should take action to ensure that a lease extension is effected without delay
It is conventional wisdom that a property with in excess of one hundred years remaining is worth roughly the same as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to all but the shortest lease, the property will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years ahead.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Lloyds TSB Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| National Westminster Bank | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
| 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 |
| 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. |
The lawyers that we work with undertake Belsize Park 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 lawyer we work with provide it.
Last October George, came precariously close to the eighty-year threshold with the lease on his garden flat in Belsize Park. Having purchased his property two decades ago, the length of the lease was of minimal concern. As luck would have it, it dawned on him that he needed to take action soon on Extending the lease. George extended the lease at the eleventh hour in March. George and the freeholder via the management company eventually agreed on sum of £6,000 . If the lease had dipped to less than 80 years, the figure would have become more costly by at least £925.
Last year we were contacted by Dr O Campbell , who took over the lease of a studio flat in Belsize Park in September 1998. The dilemma was if we could approximate the premium could be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Comparative flats in Belsize Park with an extended lease were in the region of £290,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £45 billed every twelve months. The lease terminated in 2098. Given that there were 73 years outstanding we estimated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Belsize Park property is First Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 16.83 and 16.43.