Stop! Your Lease Extension in Friern Barnet Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Friern Barnet are unaware that their original lawyer had a duty to warn them about future mortgageability and saleability issues. Before you pay thousands to your freeholder, let us audit your purchase history. You might have a claim that pays for your lease extension in full

If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Friern Barnet has dropped toward the 80-year mark, your previous lawyer may be at fault. Our panel of experts specialise in recovering lease extension costs from negligent firms who failed to protect your investment.

Why you should start your Friern Barnet lease extension


Why you should start your Friern Barnet lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Friern Barnet property value

The rule of thumb is, all other things holding equal, the shorter the lease the more costly the premium. Qualifying leaseholders in Friern Barnet have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for an additional ninety years in accordance with the 1993 Leasehold Reform Act. Please think carefully before delaying your Friern Barnet lease extension. Shelving that expense today simply escalates the amount you will ultimately be required to pay to extend the lease.

Friern Barnet property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold premises in Friern Barnet with over one hundred 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 home. In such circumstances there is often little to be gained by purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and estate charges merit it.

Mortgage lenders will not lend on a short lease

Mortgage companies are really clamping down as regards to homes in Friern Barnet with short leases. For example you might discover that their lending requirements are stricter and that they alter interest rates depending on the unexpired lease term. Some may even refuse to lend completely, so where you wanted to sell, your only options would be to find a cash purchaser, or try your luck at auction thus reducing the amount of prospective purchasers.

Lender Requirement
Barclays plc Leases with less than 70 years at the commencement of the mortgage are not acceptable.

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;
Barnsley Building Society 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
Chelsea Building Society 85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage. Please ensure that you explain the implications of a short term lease to the borrower.
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.

What makes us experts in Friern Barnet lease extensions?

The lawyers that we work with procure Friern Barnet 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.

Friern Barnet Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Chloe, Friern Barnet, North London,

Subsequent to lengthy negotiations with the freeholder of her leasehold flat in Friern Barnet, Chloe initiated the lease extension process as the eighty year deadline was fast advancing. The legal work completed in October 2012. The freeholder’s fees were restricted to approximately 700 pounds.

Friern Barnet case:

Mrs Abbie Evans purchased a newly refurbished apartment in Friern Barnet in March 1998. The dilemma was if we could approximate the premium could be for a ninety year lease extension. Comparable homes in Friern Barnet with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £255,000. The average amount of ground rent was £50 billed yearly. The lease terminated in 2096. Considering the 70 years remaining we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 plus costs.

Decision in Barnet

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Friern Barnet residence is 34 Poplar Grove in June 2013. The Tribunal directed that the premium for the lease extension should be in the sum of £10,250. This case affected 1 flat.