For those whose New Eltham home is held on a long lease, our message is clear – if you do nothing, the property will eventually revert to your landlord, leaving you empty-handed. The fewer the years remaining the less it is worth and the more it will cost to obtain a lease extension.
It is conventional wisdom that a residential leasehold with in excess of 100 years remaining is worth approximately the same as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to any lease with more than 45 years left, the residence will be worth the same as a freehold for decades to come.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| 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 |
| TSB | Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
Lease extensions in New Eltham can be a difficult process. We recommend you get guidance from a lawyer and valuer with experience in this area.
We provide you with an expert from a selection of lease extension solicitors, which ensures a targeted and efficient service as you have a dedicated port of call with an individual lawyer. Our lease extension solicitors have in-depth market knowledge dealing with New Eltham lease extensions and further afield, as well as any potential issues which may arise as well as problems with the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal.
In recent months Theo, came perilously close to the 80-year threshold with the lease on his one bedroom apartment in New Eltham. Having bought his home two decades ago, the unexpired term was of little importance. by good luck, he noticed he needed to take action soon on Extending the lease. Theo was able to extend his lease just in the nick of time in June. Theo and the freeholder ultimately settled on an amount of £6,000 . If the lease had fallen to less than eighty years, the figure would have escalated by a minimum £975.
Last year we were contacted by Dr P Morel , who owned a garden flat in New Eltham in April 2005. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium would be for a 90 year lease extension. Similar flats in New Eltham with an extended lease were in the region of £198,800. The average amount of ground rent was £55 invoiced every twelve months. The lease terminated in 2080. Taking into account 55 years unexpired we estimated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £33,300 and £38,400 exclusive of expenses.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a New Eltham residence is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case related to 1 flat.