Ferndown Lease Extension - Free Consultation

Before you progress with your lease extension in Ferndown
Get a quote from one of our lease extension experts with over 20 years experience.

Let them guide you for FREE on the various options available to you.

It may end up saving you thousands.

Main reasons to start your Ferndown lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Ferndown lease extension today:

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

There is no doubt about it a leasehold flat or house in Ferndown is a wasting asset as a result of the diminishing lease term. Where the lease has, over 100 years to run then this decrease may be fractional nevertheless there will become a point in time when a lease has less than 80 years remaining as part of the premium you will incur is what is known as a marriage value. This could increase sharply the cost. It is the primary reason why you should extend the lease without delay. The majority of flat owners in Ferndown will meet the qualifying criteria; that being said a conveyancer can advise if you are eligible to extend your lease. In limited situations you may not qualify, the most frequent reason being that you have owned the property for under two years.

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

Leasehold residencies in Ferndown with over 100 years left on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your home. In such situations there is often little upside in buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and estate charges merit it.

Lending institutions will not grant a mortgage with a short lease

Most banks and building societies require a lengthy amount of time remaining on a leasehold property before they will consider providing a mortgage on it. Regardless of whether you need a mortgage, you should keep in mind that it is likely that someone wanting to buy your property in the future might well do, so in the event that they can't secure a mortgage, then the financial worth of your property will likely suffer. In the last decade most mortgage lenders have increased the required minimum lease length that they are willing to accept

Lender Requirement
Barnsley Building Society 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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.
Leeds Building Society 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.
Nationwide Building Society - Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years.
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).

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
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.

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 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- 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 is 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 55 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% 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 (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- 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 (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- 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 charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis

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% 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 Issuing Office.
Santander You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if:
1. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is between 55 and 82 years, but the actual unexpired term differs by more than one year (whether longer or shorter); or
2. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is more than 82 years but the actual unexpired term is less than 82 years; or
3. no valuation report is provided
However, we will not accept a lease where on expiry of the mortgage:
(i) less than 50 years remain and all or part of the loan is repaid on an interest-only basis: or
(ii) less than 30 years remain and the loan is repaid on a capital and interest basis

We will accept a lease that has been extended under the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 provided statutory compensation would be available to the leaseholder.

Why use us for your lease extension in Ferndown?

Retaining our service will provide you better control over the value of your Ferndown leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in terms of lease length should you wish to sell. The conveyancers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Ferndown Lease Extension Example Cases:

Eli, Ferndown, Dorset

Last Summer Eli, started to get near to the 80-year mark with the lease on his leasehold apartment in Ferndown. Having bought his property two decades ago, the unexpired term was of little bearing. Thankfully, it dawned on him that he needed to take action soon on a lease extension. Eli was able to extend his lease just under the wire last April. Eli and the freeholder ultimately agreed on a premium of £6,000 . If he failed to meet the deadline, the price would have increased by at least £850.

Ferndown case:

Last Christmas we were contacted by Mrs F Peterson , who acquired a one bedroom apartment in Ferndown in March 2009. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) premium could be for a 90 year lease extension. Comparable premises in Ferndown with 100 year plus lease were valued about £300,000. The mid-range ground rent payable was £50 collected per annum. The lease ended on 15 January 2100. Considering the 75 years as a residual term we estimated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional charges.

Ferndown case:

In 2013 we were approached by Mr and Mrs. F Campbell who, having took over the lease of a purpose-built apartment in Ferndown in January 1999. We are asked if we could approximate the premium would likely be to extend the lease by 90 years. Similar premises in Ferndown with an extended lease were valued around £250,400. The average ground rent payable was £65 collected every twelve months. The lease ended in 2089. Taking into account 64 years outstanding we approximated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £19,000 and £22,000 not including legals.