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Main reasons to commence your Salford lease extension


Why you should commence your Salford lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Salford property value

The closer a domestic lease in Salford gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. Where the lease has, beyond one hundred years to run then this decrease may be negligible however there will become a stage when a lease has less than eighty 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 reason why you should consider extending without delay. Most flat owners in Salford will qualify for this right; that being said a conveyancer should be able to advise whether you are eligible to extend your lease. In certain situations you may not qualify, the most common reason being that you have not been the owner of the property for two years.

Salford property with a lease extension has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold properties in Salford with more than one hundred years remaining on the lease are sometimes regarded as a ‘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 upside in buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges warrant it.

Banks and Building Societies may not grant a mortgage with a short lease

Lending institutions have specific criteria when lending funds charged on leasehold homes. Many will simply not lend at all once the residual lease term drops lower than a specified unexpired lease term. Many Banks and Building Societies will not regard property with an unexpired term of less than seventy years as adequate security. As well as this being important when selling, it is also relevant where you are seeking to refinance your Salford property.

Lender Requirement
Bank of Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Leeds Building Society 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.
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
Virgin 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.
Yorkshire 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.

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

Engaging our service will provide you increased control over the value of your Salford leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and marketable in respect of lease length should you wish to sell. The conveyancing solicitors that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.

Salford Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Evan, Salford, Greater Manchester

Two years ago Evan, came dangerously close to the eighty-year mark with the lease on his garden flat in Salford. Having bought his flat 19 years ago, the lease term was of no importance. Luckily, he became aware that he needed to take action soon on Extending the lease. Evan was able to extend his lease at the eleventh hour in July. Evan and the freeholder via the managing agents in the end agreed on a premium of £6,000 . If the lease had slipped to less than 80 years, the price would have increased by a minimum £1,050.

Salford case:

Mr and Mrs. F Peterson owned a purpose-built flat in Salford in July 2001. The dilemma was if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would be for a ninety year lease extension. Comparable residencies in Salford with a long lease were worth £166,400. The mid-range ground rent payable was £60 billed per annum. The lease ended in 2078. Considering the 54 years remaining we calculated the compensation to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £32,300 and £37,400 not including costs.

Salford case:

Last Summer we were e-mailed by Mr and Mrs. W Ricardo , who moved into a ground floor apartment in Salford in March 2005. We are asked if we could estimate the price would be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Comparable residencies in Salford with 100 year plus lease were valued around £227,800. The mid-range ground rent payable was £45 collected every twelve months. The lease concluded on 11 April 2089. Given that there were 65 years as a residual term we approximated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £13,300 and £15,400 not including expenses.