Pratt's Bottom Lease Extension - Free Consultation

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Main reasons to commence your Pratt's Bottom lease extension


Why you should commence your Pratt's Bottom lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Pratt's Bottom property value

There is no doubt about it a leasehold flat or house in Pratt's Bottom is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. If the lease has, more than 99 years remaining then this decrease may be fractional that being said there will become a point in time when a lease has less than 80 years remaining as part of the premium you will incur is what is known as a marriage value. This could increase sharply the cost. It is the primary rational as to why you should extend the lease sooner as opposed to later. Most flat owners in Pratt's Bottom will meet the qualifying criteria; that being said a conveyancer can advise if you qualify to extend your lease. In limited situations you may not qualify, the most frequent reason being that you have not been the owner of the property for two years.

Pratt's Bottom property with a lease extension is almost the same value as a freehold

It is generally accepted that a residential leasehold with in excess of one hundred years unexpired lease term is worth approximately the same as a freehold. Where an additional 90 years added to all but the shortest lease, the property will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years ahead.

Lending institutions may not loan monies on a short lease

The trend since 2008 has been for banks to tighten lending requirements generally - this has extended to the types of security over which the mortgage is to be charged. This has meant the minimum number of years remaining under the lease required by banks has increased. In the past banks would grant a mortgage on a lease with 25 years plus the term of the loan - routinely 50 year leases but those requirements evolved by the requirement for longer and longer leases - many use a minimum term of 75 years as a prerequisite.

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.
Barclays plc Leases with less than 70 years at the commencement of the mortgage should be declined (see exception below).

Leases with greater than 70 years but fewer than 85 years remaining must be referred to issuing office.

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;
Barnsley Building Society 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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
The Mortgage Works Minimum unexpired lease term is 70 years with 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
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

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 70 years
- 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 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 70 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 1.0% 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
- 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
- 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 reviewed and altered on any review basis or methodology

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 1.0% 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 the Issuing Office

Why use us for your lease extension in Pratt's Bottom?

Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a landlord in Pratt's Bottom,the lease extension solicitors that we work with will always be prepared to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with Pratt's Bottom valuers.

Pratt's Bottom Lease Extension Example Cases:

Jamie, Pratt's Bottom, South East London

During the course of the last few months Jamie, started to get close to the eighty-year mark with the lease on his ground floor apartment in Pratt's Bottom. In buying his home twenty years ago, the length of the lease was of no concern. Thankfully, he became aware that he needed to take steps soon on Extending the lease. Jamie arranged for a lease extension at the eleventh hour last August. Jamie and the landlord subsequently settled on a premium of £5,500 . If he had missed the deadline, the sum would have increased by at least £850.

Pratt's Bottom case:

Mr and Mrs. N Richardson completed a studio apartment in Pratt's Bottom in May 2003. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) compensation to the landlord could be to extend the lease by 90 years. Identical properties in Pratt's Bottom with a long lease were valued about £200,000. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £50 invoiced per annum. The lease ended on 18 June 2101. Taking into account 77 years as a residual term we estimated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 not including fees.

Decision in Bromley

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Pratt's Bottom flat is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 50.57 years.