With a residential leasehold property in Mill Hill, you are actually purchasing an entitlement to live in a property for a prescribed time frame. Modern flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Many leasehold owners are unconcerned as this seems like a long period of time, you should consider extending the lease sooner as opposed to later. The general rule is that the shorter the lease is the cost of extending the lease increases markedly especially once there are fewer than 80 years left. Anyone in Mill Hill with a lease approaching 81 years left should seriously consider extending it as soon as possible. When a lease has below eighty years left, under the relevant Act the landlord is entitled to calculate and levy a greater premium, assessed on a technical calculation, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is due.
It is generally considered that a residential leasehold with over 100 years unexpired lease term is worth approximately the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to any lease with more than 35 years left, the premises will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years ahead.
| 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; |
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Halifax | Minimum 70 years from the date 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 |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
Using our service gives you better control over the value of your Mill Hill leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in relation to the lease length should you decide to sell. The lawyers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
After lengthy negotiations with the freeholder of her purpose-built flat in Mill Hill, Louise initiated the lease extension process just as the lease was coming close to the all-important eighty-year threshold. The legal work was concluded in September 2008. The freeholder’s costs were restricted to under 650 pounds.
In 2010 we were contacted by Mr B Adams who, having moved into a ground floor apartment in Mill Hill in June 2003. The question was if we could estimate the premium would likely be to extend the lease by an additional years. Comparable residencies in Mill Hill with a long lease were valued around £257,800. The average ground rent payable was £65 invoiced every twelve months. The lease terminated on 14 April 2091. Considering the 65 years remaining we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £18,100 and £20,800 plus legals.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Mill Hill property is Ground Floor Maisonette 17 Milton Road in January 2014. The Tribunal determined the premium payable by the Applicant to the should be £13,299 This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 71.73 years.