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Top reasons for Millom lease extension


Why you should start your Millom lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Millom property value

The market value of Millom leasehold residential property falls as the lease term becomes shorter and this will have an impact on its saleability. The expense of extending the lease can increase significantly once the unexpired lease term is below than 80 years

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

It is generally accepted that a property with in excess of 100 years remaining is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further 90 years added to any lease with more than 35 years unexpired, the property will be worth the same as a freehold for many years ahead.

Lending institutions may not finance a property with a short lease

Many banks and building societies insist on a lengthy amount of time left on any leasehold property before they will contemplate it as adequate security. Regardless of whether you require a mortgage, you should be aware that it is likely that someone wanting to acquire your property in the future might well do, so where they can't get a mortgage, then the market price of the property will likely be adversely impacted. In the last decade most banks and building societies have increased the required minimum lease length that they are prepared to accept

Lender Requirement
Barnsley Building Society 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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.
Halifax Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Lloyds TSB Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Nationwide Building Society - Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years.
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).

Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:

Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.

New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer

Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.

SECOND HAND PROPERTIES

Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period is less than or equal to 5 years

Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 55 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial, etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary

Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI

NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)

Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined)
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis

Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary

Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn Ground Rent (Annual Rent) charges

For the avoidance of doubt, any New Build properties completed but not sold pre-30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the Lease conforms to the above guidance.

* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years.

Lease Extensions

We require all Lease Extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to Issuing Office.

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

Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Millom,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 Millom valuers.

Millom Lease Extension Case Studies:

Logan, Millom, Cumbria,

Logan owned a studio apartment in Millom on the market with a lease of a few days over 61 years unexpired. Logan informally contacted his freeholder being a well known local-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder was prepared to agree an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent to start with set at £150 per annum and increase every twenty five years thereafter. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Logan to invoke his statutory right. Logan obtained expert legal guidance and was able to make an informed judgement and handle with the matter and readily saleable.

Millom case:

Last month we were called by Mr Luca Ramírez , who completed a one bedroom apartment in Millom in March 2010. The dilemma was if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would likely be for a 90 year lease extension. Comparable flats in Millom with a long lease were in the region of £254,200. The mid-range ground rent payable was £60 invoiced quarterly. The lease came to a finish in 2075. Taking into account 51 years unexpired we calculated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be within £43,700 and £50,600 not including expenses.

Millom case:

Last April we were phoned by Mrs Maisie Patel , who acquired a garden apartment in Millom in January 2008. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) price would likely be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Identical premises in Millom with an extended lease were valued around £215,600. The average ground rent payable was £45 collected per annum. The lease lapsed in 2086. Given that there were 62 years as a residual term we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £18,100 and £20,800 plus expenses.