When it comes to residential leasehold premises in North Finchley, you effectively rent it for a certain amount of time. Modern flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Even though this may appear like a long period of time, you may consider extending the lease sooner as opposed to later. Accepted thinking is that the shorter the number of years is the cost of extending the lease becomes disproportionately more expensive notably when there are fewer than 80 years left. Leasehold owners in North Finchley with a lease approaching 81 years left should seriously consider extending it without delay. When a lease has below eighty years outstanding, under the current statute the landlord can calculate and levy a greater premium, assessed on a technical calculation, strangely termed as “marriage value” which is payable.
Leasehold premises in North Finchley with in excess of 100 years outstanding on the lease are often regarded as a ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such circumstances there is often little upside in buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and service charges warrant 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. |
| 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. |
| Leeds Building Society | 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Mortgage term plus 30 years. |
Engaging our service gives you increased control over the value of your North Finchley leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in respect of 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.
Two years ago Harvey, started to get near to the 80-year threshold with the lease on his first floor apartment in North Finchley. In buying his property 19 years ago, the lease term was of minimal concern. As luck would have it, he realised he needed to take action soon on a lease extension. Harvey was able to extend his lease just under the wire in March. Harvey and the landlord who owned the flat above ultimately settled on an amount of £5,500 . If the lease had dipped to less than 80 years, the sum would have escalated by a minimum £900.
In 2010 we were phoned by Dr Aimee Morgan who, having took over the lease of a garden flat in North Finchley in July 2010. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) price could be to extend the lease by an additional years. Identical properties in North Finchley with a long lease were valued around £174,200. The average amount of ground rent was £55 invoiced per annum. The lease finished on 23 November 2077. Taking into account 51 years unexpired we calculated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £31,400 and £36,200 exclusive of professional charges.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a North Finchley premises is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case affected 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.