Stop! Your Lease Extension in Twickenham Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Twickenham 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 Twickenham 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.

Top reasons for Twickenham lease extension


Why you should commence your Twickenham lease extension today:

Increase your lease and increase your Twickenham property value

Unfortunately that a Twickenham residential lease is a wasting asset. The lease value drops in proportion to its lease length. The extent of this is taken for granted in the early years due to the loss of value being disguised by increases in the Twickenham property market.Where your lease has approximately 90 years left, you need to start thinking about a lease extension. If the number of years remaining slips below 80 years, you will then be required to pay 50% of the property's 'marriage value' in addition to the usual cost of the lease extension to the landlord. Marriage value is the amount of additional value that a lease extension will add the property Most leasehold owners in Twickenham will be able to extend under the legislation; however a conveyancing solicitor should be able to clarify whether you qualify for an extension. In some situations you may not be entitled. There are also strict timetables and procedures to follow once the process has commenced and you will need to be guided by your lawyer for the duration of the process.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

It is generally accepted that a property with in excess of one hundred years unexpired lease term is worth approximately the same as a freehold. Where an further 90 years added to any lease with more than 30 years left, the property will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years in the future.

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

Banks and building societies are distinct in their lending criteria. Some set the bar at seventy five years left on the lease; others may be content with anything in excess 70 years. Below sixty years, it may be difficult to get a mortgage at all.

Lender Requirement
Barclays plc Leases with less than 70 years at the commencement of the mortgage are not acceptable.

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;
Halifax Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Leeds Building Society 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage.
Santander

If the property is leasehold, the remaining unexpired lease term at the end of the new mortgage term must be at least 50 years where any part of the mortgage is on Interest Only and 30 years if all loan parts are on Capital Repayment and Interest.

You must report the unexpired lease term to us and await our instructions if: 
1. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is between 55 and 82 years, but the actual unexpired term differs by more than one year (whether longer or shorter); or
2. the unexpired term assumed by our valuer is more than 82 years but the actual unexpired term is less than 82 years; or
3. no valuation report is provided.
 


We will accept a lease that has been extended under the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1993 provided statutory compensation would be available to the leaseholder.

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 Twickenham lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

Regardless of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Twickenham,the lease extension lawyers that we work with will always be happy to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their experience and the close ties they enjoy with Twickenham valuers.

Twickenham Lease Extension Case Studies:

Luca, Twickenham, South West London,

Luca owned a high value flat in Twickenham on the market with a lease of a few days over 61 years unexpired. Luca informally approached his landlord a well known Bristol-based freehold company for a lease extension. The freeholder was keen to give an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years subject to a new rent initially set at £100 per annum and increase every 25 years thereafter. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Luca to exercise his statutory right. Luca obtained expert legal guidance and was able to make a more informed decision and deal with the matter and readily saleable.

Twickenham case:

Last month we were contacted by Mr and Mrs. O Hernández , who owned a ground floor apartment in Twickenham in March 2006. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord could be for a 90 year lease extension. Identical properties in Twickenham with an extended lease were in the region of £290,000. The average amount of ground rent was £45 billed per annum. The lease terminated in 2098. Given that there were 72 years outstanding we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £11,400 and £13,200 exclusive of legals.

Decision in Hounslow

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Twickenham premises is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 60.45 years.