Owning a flat usually means owning a lease of the property, this is a ‘time-limited’ interest becoming shorter every day. This lease will normally be granted for a set period of time , usually 99 or 125 years, although we have come across longer and shorter terms in West Wickham. Clearly, the period of lease remaining shortens as time goes by. This may slip by relatively unnoticed when the flat or house needs to be sold or refinanced. The fewer the years remaining the lower the value of the property and the more it will cost to extend the lease. Qualifying long lease owners in West Wickham have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for a further 90 years in accordance with the 1993 Leasehold Reform Act. You should give due consideration before delaying your West Wickham lease extension. Putting off that expense now simply increases the price you will ultimately have to pay to extend your lease
It is generally considered that a residential leasehold with more than 100 years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an additional ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the property will be worth the same as a freehold for many years in the future.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Halifax | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Leeds Building Society | 85 years remaining from the start of the mortgage. |
| Lloyds TSB Scotland | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| Virgin | 85 years at the time of completion. If it's less, we require it to be extended on or before completion. |
Using our service gives you better control over the value of your West Wickham leasehold, as your property will be more valuable and saleable in respect of lease length should you want to sell. The conveyancers that we work with are well versed in the legislation handling many hundreds of lease extensions or freehold purchase transactions.
Thomas owned a studio flat in West Wickham being marketed with a lease of a few days over 61 years remaining. Thomas on an informal basis approached his freeholder a well known Manchester-based freehold company for a lease extension. The freeholder was prepared to give an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years on the basis of a new rent at the outset set at £200 per annum and doubled every twenty five years thereafter. No ground rent would be due on a lease extension were Thomas to exercise his statutory right. Thomas procured expert legal guidance and was able to make a more informed decision and handle with the matter and sell the property.
Last Christmas we were approach by Mr and Mrs. Y Clark , who completed a purpose-built flat in West Wickham in June 1997. The question was if we could estimate the premium would be to extend the lease by ninety years. Similar flats in West Wickham with a long lease were valued around £265,200. The average ground rent payable was £65 collected quarterly. The lease ran out in 2091. Considering the 66 years remaining we estimated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £15,200 and £17,600 exclusive of expenses.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a West Wickham premises 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 lease term was 76.75 and 88.83.