Leven leases on residential properties are gradually decreasing in value. The shorter the remaining lease term becomes, the less it is worth – and as a result any extension of your lease gets more expensive. Legislation has been in place for sometime now which permits qualifying Leven residential leaseholders to extend the terms of long leases. Where you are a leasehold owner in Leven you must check if your lease has between seventy and ninety years left. There are good reasons why a Leven leaseholder with a lease having around eighty years left should take steps to ensure that a lease extension is put in place without delay
Leasehold properties in Leven with over one hundred years outstanding on the lease are sometimes referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth 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 maintenance charges merit it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 |
| Yorkshire 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. |
Engaging our service gives you better control over the value of your Leven leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in terms of lease length should you want to sell. The lawyers that we work with have a in-depth market knowledge handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Subsequent to unsuccessful correspondence with the landlord of her garden apartment in Leven, Holly started the lease extension process as the eighty year threshold was rapidly advancing. The legal work was concluded in January 2009. The freeholder’s fees were kept to an absolute minimum.
Last year we were phoned by Mrs H Davis , who was assigned a lease of a basement apartment in Leven in October 1996. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) premium could be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Identical properties in Leven with 100 year plus lease were in the region of £227,800. The average ground rent payable was £45 invoiced monthly. The lease expired in 2089. Having 65 years remaining we estimated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be within £13,300 and £15,400 not including legals.
Last year we were contacted by Mrs Nicole Roberts , who took over the lease of a purpose-built flat in Leven in November 2004. The question was if we could approximate the premium would likely be for a 90 year lease extension. Comparative flats in Leven with a long lease were valued about £275,000. The average ground rent payable was £55 collected monthly. The lease termination date was in 2100. Having 76 years outstanding we approximated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.