For anyone whose Coulsdon property is held on a long lease, the message is clear – if you ignore the situation, your property will eventually revert to your landlord, leaving you empty-handed. The shorter the lease the lower the value of the property and the more it will cost to extend the lease.
Leasehold premises in Coulsdon with in excess of 100 years unexpired 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 situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges warrant it.
| 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. |
| Halifax | 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 30 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. |
The lawyers that we work with handle Coulsdon 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.
Caleb owned a 2 bedroom apartment in Coulsdon being marketed with a lease of fraction over sixty years left. Caleb on an informal basis contacted his freeholder being a well known Manchester-based freehold company for a lease extension. The freeholder indicated a willingness to extend the lease to 125 years on the basis of an increased rent to £200 annually. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be payable on a lease extension were Caleb to invoke his statutory right. Caleb procured expert legal guidance and secured satisfactory resolution informally and ending up with a market value flat.
Mr and Mrs. A Parker was assigned a lease of a first floor apartment in Coulsdon in June 2003. We are asked if we could estimate the price could be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Identical properties in Coulsdon with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £255,000. The average amount of ground rent was £50 invoiced annually. The lease terminated on 27 January 2097. Considering the 71 years unexpired we calculated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Coulsdon flat is 223 Brighton Road in September 2013. The premium payable for the acquisition freehold of the properties should be £10,934 (Ten thousand,nine hundred and thirty four pounds) This case related to 3 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 75 years.