There is no doubt about it a leasehold property in West Wickham is a wasting asset as a result of the diminishing lease term. Where the lease has, beyond 100 years remaining then this decrease may be negligible nevertheless there will become a stage when a lease has under than 80 years unexpired as part of the premium you will incur is what is termed as a marriage value. This could be significant. It is the main logic behind why you should extend the lease without delay. The majority of flat owners in West Wickham will qualify for this right; however a conveyancer will be able to advise if you are eligible for a lease extension. In limited situations you may not qualify, the most frequent reason being that you have not been the owner of the property for two years.
It is generally considered that a property with more than 100 years remaining is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further 90 years added to all but the shortest lease, the premises will be equivalent in value to a freehold for many years in the future.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| Santander | 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 However, we will not accept a lease where on expiry of the mortgage: (i) less than 50 years remain and all or part of the loan is repaid on an interest-only basis: or (ii) less than 30 years remain and the loan is repaid on a capital and interest basis 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. |
| 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 |
| TSB | Minimum of 70 years at mortgage commencement, with 30 years remaining at mortgage redemption. |
| 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. |
Engaging our service will provide you enhanced control over the value of your West Wickham leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in terms of lease length should you wish to sell. The conveyancers that we work with have a wealth of experience of handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Luke owned a studio flat in West Wickham being marketed with a lease of just over 61 years remaining. Luke informally approached his freeholder being a well known Manchester-based freehold company for a lease extension. The landlord indicated a willingness to extend the lease to 125 years subject to a new rent initially set at £100 per annum and doubled every twenty five years thereafter. Ordinarily, ground rent would not be due on a lease extension were Luke to exercise his statutory right. Luke procured expert legal guidance and was able to make an informed judgement and handle with the matter and readily saleable.
Mr R Johnson owned a one bedroom apartment in West Wickham in October 2011. The dilemma was if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) compensation to the landlord would likely be for a 90 year lease extension. Similar premises in West Wickham with a long lease were worth £280,000. The average amount of ground rent was £45 collected every twelve months. The lease end date was on 1 October 2095. Given that there were 70 years unexpired we calculated the premium to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £12,400 and £14,200 not including fees.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a West Wickham flat is 26 Manor Road in July 2010. the Tribunal decided that price to be paid for the freehold was £12,420 This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 76.75 and 88.83.