For those whose Southgate property is held on a long lease, the message is clear – if no remedial action is taken, your property will eventually revert to your landlord, leaving you empty-handed. The shorter the lease the lower the value of the property and the more it will cost to extend the lease.
It is generally considered that a residential leasehold with in excess of 100 years remaining is worth roughly the equivalent 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 decades to come.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Barclays plc | |
| Barnsley Building Society | |
| Godiva Mortgages | |
| Santander | |
| The Mortgage Works |
The conveyancing solicitors that we work with handle Southgate 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.
In recent months Jackson, came precariously near to the 80-year mark with the lease on his studio flat in Southgate. In buying his home twenty years previously, the length of the lease was of no interest. by good luck, it dawned on him that he needed to take steps soon on Extending the lease. Jackson was able to extend his lease just under the wire in June. Jackson and the landlord in the end settled on a premium of £5,500 . If the lease had dipped below eighty years, the figure would have escalated by at least £1,050.
Last Autumn we were contacted by Ms Alexandra Jones , who moved into a one bedroom apartment in Southgate in November 2003. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would likely be to prolong the lease by a further 90 years. Similar residencies in Southgate with an extended lease were valued about £174,200. The average ground rent payable was £55 collected per annum. The lease ended in 2077. Taking into account 51 years as a residual term we estimated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £31,400 and £36,200 not including professional charges.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Southgate property is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 70.31 years.