With a long leasehold premises in Great Linford, you are actually buying an entitlement to reside in a property for a prescribed time frame. These days flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Many leasehold owners become complacent as this seems like a long period of time, you should think about extending the lease sooner as opposed to later. The general rule is that the shorter the number of years is the cost of extending the lease becomes disproportionately more expensive notably when there are fewer than eighty years remaining. Anyone in Great Linford with a lease approaching 81 years left should seriously think of extending it sooner rather than later. When a lease has under 80 years outstanding, under the relevant legislation the freeholder can calculate and demand a greater premium, assessed on a technical computation, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is due.
It is conventional wisdom that a property with more than 100 years remaining is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the residence will be worth the same as a freehold for decades to come.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Accord Mortgages | 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. |
| 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; |
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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. |
| Leeds Building Society | 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage. |
Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Great Linford,the lease extension solicitors that we work with will always be prepared to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their experience and the close ties they enjoy with Great Linford valuers.
Following lengthy negotiations with the landlord of her basement flat in Great Linford, Alisha started the lease extension process just as the lease was approaching the all-important 80-year threshold. The lease extension was finalised in January 2006. The freeholder’s charges were negotiated to under 500 GBP.
Last Spring we were called by Dr Eliot Allen , who owned a basement flat in Great Linford in January 1996. The dilemma was if we could approximate the premium could be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Comparative residencies in Great Linford with a long lease were valued about £275,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £65 collected quarterly. The lease end date was on 8 October 2094. Given that there were 68 years left we approximated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 exclusive of legals.
Ms C Thomas completed a one bedroom apartment in Great Linford in January 2004. The dilemma was if we could approximate the premium could be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Comparable properties in Great Linford with an extended lease were worth £208,600. The average amount of ground rent was £60 collected quarterly. The lease terminated in 2083. Given that there were 57 years as a residual term we calculated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £30,400 and £35,200 exclusive of legals.