Stop! Your Lease Extension in Stockport Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Stockport are unaware that their original lawyer had a duty to warn them about future mortgageability and saleability issues. Before you pay thousands to your freeholder, let us audit your purchase history. You might have a claim that pays for your lease extension in full

If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Stockport has dropped toward the 80-year mark, your previous lawyer may be at fault. Our panel of experts specialise in recovering lease extension costs from negligent firms who failed to protect your investment.

Why you should start your Stockport lease extension


Why you should start your Stockport lease extension today:

A Stockport lease depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

When it comes to long leasehold property in Stockport, you are actually buying a right to reside in a property for a prescribed time frame. In recent years flat leases are usually granted for 99 years or 125. Many leasehold owners become complacent as this seems like a lengthy period of time, you should think about a lease extension sooner as opposed to later. The general rule is that the shorter the number of years is the cost of extending the lease gets disproportionately greater especially when there are less than eighty years left. Leasehold owners in Stockport with a lease nearing 81 years left should seriously consider extending it without delay. Once the lease term has under eighty years remaining, under the current statute the landlord is entitled to calculate and demand a larger amount, based on a technical calculation, known as “marriage value” which is payable.

Stockport property with a lease extension is almost the same value as a freehold

Leasehold properties in Stockport 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 home. In such circumstances there is often little to be gained by purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and estate charges warrant it.

Lending institutions may decide not to grant a mortgage with a short lease

Most mortgage lenders will not lend on a lease with less than seventy years left to run - although this varies from lender to lender. A buyer will undoubtedly find it difficult in obtaining a mortgage and this will result in your Stockport property becoming difficult to sell or to obtain finance on.

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.
Bank of Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Lloyds TSB Scotland 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
Virgin 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion.

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

The lawyers that we work with procure Stockport 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.

Stockport Lease Extension Case Studies:

Benjamin, Stockport, Greater Manchester

Last October Benjamin, came very near to the 80-year mark with the lease on his basement apartment in Stockport. In buying his property twenty years previously, the lease term was of little concern. Thankfully, he recognised he would soon be paying an inflated amount for a lease extension. Benjamin arranged for a lease extension at the eleventh hour last April. Benjamin and the freeholder via the managing agents in the end settled on sum of £6,000 . If he failed to meet the deadline, the amount would have increased by at least £1,050.

Stockport case:

Last Spring we were e-mailed by Dr V Phillips , who completed a one bedroom apartment in Stockport in October 2003. We are asked if we could estimate the premium would be for a 90 year lease extension. Identical properties in Stockport with 100 year plus lease were worth £176,200. The average ground rent payable was £65 billed quarterly. The lease elapsed on 5 August 2082. Considering the 56 years unexpired we estimated the compensation to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £29,500 and £34,000 plus professional charges.

Stockport case:

Ms S Scott took over the lease of a garden flat in Stockport in June 1995. The question was if we could shed any light on how much (approximately) premium would likely be to extend the lease by 90 years. Comparative properties in Stockport with a long lease were in the region of £237,600. The average amount of ground rent was £45 billed every twelve months. The lease expiry date was on 21 August 2093. Given that there were 67 years left we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £11,400 and £13,200 not including expenses.