Merton Park Lease Extension - Free Consultation

Before you progress with your lease extension in Merton Park
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.

Top reasons for Merton Park lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Merton Park lease extension today:

A Merton Park lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

With a long leasehold premises in Merton Park, you effectively rent it for a certain period of time. These days flat leases typically tend to be for 99 years or 125. Even though this may appear like a lengthy period of time, you may think about a lease extension sooner rather than later. Accepted thinking is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease becomes disproportionately more expensive notably when there are less than 80 years remaining. Leasehold owners in Merton Park with a lease nearing 81 years unexpired should seriously consider extending it without delay. Once a lease has below eighty years left, under the relevant legislation the landlord is entitled to calculate and charge a greater amount, assessed on a technical computation, known as “marriage value” which is due.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

Leasehold residencies in Merton Park with in excess of 100 years left on the lease are sometimes regarded as a ‘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 purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges warrant it.

Banks and Building Societies may not grant a mortgage with a short lease

The propensity since 2008 has been for mortgage companies to tighten lending requirements generally - this has extended to the property over which the mortgage is to be granted. This has resulted in the minimum number of years remaining under the lease required by banks has increased. Historically mortgage companies would grant a mortgage on a lease with 25 years plus the term of the loan - typically 50 year leases but those requirements evolved by the requirement for longer and longer leases - many now have a minimum term of 75 years as a prerequisite.

Lender Requirement
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.
Halifax Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Leeds Building Society 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.
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.

Get in touch with one of our Merton Park lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Merton Park,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 experience and the close ties they enjoy with Merton Park valuers.

Merton Park Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Abigail, Merton Park, South West London,

Subsequent to lengthy negotiations with the freeholder of her basement apartment in Merton Park, Abigail started the lease extension process as the eighty year mark was swiftly approaching. The transaction was concluded in March 2014. The landlord’s charges were kept to an absolute minimum.

Merton Park case:

Last year we were phoned by Dr Katie Petit , who purchased a one bedroom apartment in Merton Park in September 2006. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord could be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Similar flats in Merton Park with an extended lease were in the region of £205,000. The average amount of ground rent was £50 billed every twelve months. The lease came to a finish in 2105. Considering the 79 years as a residual term we approximated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £8,600 and £9,800 not including legals.

Decision in Wandsworth

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Merton Park premises is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case affected 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 62.94 years.