Totteridge leases on residential properties are gradually losing value. if your lease has about 90 years unexpired, you should start considering the need for a lease extension. 80 years is a significant number: when the unexpired term of a lease dips below this level then you begin paying an additional element called marriage value. Leasehold owners in Totteridge will mostly qualify for a lease extension; however a solicitor will confirm if you qualify. In some situations you may not be entitled. There are also strict deadlines and formalities to comply with once the process has commenced so it’s sensible to be guided by a conveyancing solicitor during the process.
Leasehold properties in Totteridge with over 100 years left on the lease are sometimes referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such situations there is often little to be gained by buying the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges warrant it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Barnsley Building Society | 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term. |
| 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. |
| Godiva Mortgages | 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. |
The conveyancers that we work with undertake Totteridge 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.
Sam owned a studio flat in Totteridge on the market with a lease of a few days over 59 years unexpired. Sam on an informal basis spoke with his landlord a well known Bristol-based freehold company for a lease extension. The freeholder indicated a willingness to extend the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent to start with set at £200 per annum and increase every twenty five years thereafter. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Sam to invoke his statutory right. Sam obtained expert legal guidance and secured an acceptable deal without resorting to tribunal and sell the property.
Dr Aarav Roberts took over the lease of a garden apartment in Totteridge in February 2002. We are asked if we could estimate the premium would likely be to prolong the lease by ninety years. Identical homes in Totteridge with an extended lease were in the region of £280,000. The average amount of ground rent was £45 billed annually. The lease terminated on 22 July 2096. Having 70 years remaining we approximated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 plus costs.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Totteridge 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 76 years.