When it comes to residential leasehold premises in Lewes, you are actually buying a right to reside in a property for a set period of time. In recent years flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Many leasehold owners become complacent as this seems like a lengthy period of time, you should think about extending the lease sooner rather than later. Accepted thinking is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease becomes disproportionately greater particularly once there are less than 80 years remaining. Residents in Lewes with a lease approaching 81 years unexpired should seriously consider extending it sooner rather than later. When a lease has under eighty years left, under the current statute the freeholder can calculate and demand a larger amount, based on a technical multiplication, known as “marriage value” which is due.
Leasehold residencies in Lewes with in excess of one hundred years remaining 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 upside in purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and service charges merit it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Bank of Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Lewes,the lease extension lawyers that we work with will always be willing to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with Lewes valuers.
Last Winter Toby, came dangerously close to the 80-year threshold with the lease on his one bedroom apartment in Lewes. Having bought his property 19 years previously, the length of the lease was of minimal bearing. As luck would have it, he noticed he would imminently be paying an inflated amount for Extending the lease. Toby extended the lease just under the wire in June. Toby and the landlord subsequently settled on a premium of £5,000 . If the lease had descended to less than 80 years, the price would have escalated by at least £1,050.
Mr and Mrs. V Cooper purchased a one bedroom apartment in Lewes in March 2007. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord would be for a 90 year lease extension. Identical residencies in Lewes with a long lease were valued around £246,800. The average ground rent payable was £60 collected every twelve months. The lease ran out in 2075. Given that there were 50 years outstanding we calculated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £44,700 and £51,600 not including professional charges.
In 2012 we were e-mailed by Dr Gabriel Lambert who, having took over the lease of a newly refurbished apartment in Lewes in January 1998. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium would likely be for a 90 year extension to my lease. Comparable homes in Lewes with an extended lease were in the region of £208,200. The average amount of ground rent was £65 collected monthly. The lease finished on 28 July 2086. Given that there were 61 years as a residual term we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £20,000 and £23,000 not including professional charges.