Owning a flat usually means owning a lease of the property, this is a ‘time-limited’ interest becoming shorter every day. This lease will normally be granted for a prescribed period of time , usually 99 or 125 years, although we have come across longer and shorter terms in Moorgate. Clearly, the length of lease left reduces as time goes by. This may slip by relatively unnoticed when the residence has to be disposed of or re-mortgaged. The fewer the years remaining the lower the value of the property and the more expensive it will be to extend the lease. Eligible long lease owners in Moorgate have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for a further 90 years in accordance with legislation. Do give due attention before putting off your Moorgate lease extension. Holding off that expense now simply increases the price you will ultimately incur for a lease extension
Leasehold properties in Moorgate with more than one hundred years remaining on the lease are often 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 to be gained by purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and estate charges merit it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Accord Mortgages | 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. |
| 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. |
| Lloyds TSB Scotland | 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. |
The conveyancing solicitors that we work with handle Moorgate lease extensions and help protect your position. A lease extension can be arranged to be completed to coincide with a change of ownership so the costs of the lease extension are paid for using part of the sale proceeds. You really do need expert legal advice in this difficult and technical area of law. The lawyer we work with provide it.
Harrison owned a high value apartment in Moorgate on the market with a lease of a little over sixty years unexpired. Harrison informally contacted his landlord being a well known London-based freehold company for a lease extension. The freeholder indicated a willingness to extend the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent to start with set at £200 per annum and increase every twenty five years thereafter. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Harrison to exercise his statutory right. Harrison procured expert advice and secured an acceptable deal without going to tribunal and sell the property.
In 2012 we were e-mailed by Mr A Lee who, having owned a studio apartment in Moorgate in February 2008. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would likely be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Identical residencies in Moorgate with an extended lease were in the region of £233,200. The mid-range ground rent payable was £60 billed quarterly. The lease lapsed on 9 May 2087. Taking into account 61 years as a residual term we estimated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £22,800 and £26,400 plus costs.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Moorgate flat is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 72.39 years.