Owning a apartment usually means owning a lease of the property, this is a ‘time-limited’ interest becoming shorter every day. The lease will ordinarily be granted for a fixed period of time , ordinarily 99 or 125 years, although we have come across longer and shorter terms in Wimbledon. Clearly, the term of lease left shortens over time. This may pass by relatively unnoticed when the flat or house has to be sold or refinanced. The shorter the lease the lower the value of the property and the more it will cost to extend the lease. Qualifying long lease owners in Wimbledon have the legal entitlement to extend the lease for a further ninety years under Leasehold Reform legislation. Please give careful consideration before putting off your Wimbledon lease extension. Putting off the cost now simply increases the price you will ultimately incur for a lease extension
Leasehold premises in Wimbledon with in excess of 100 years unexpired on the lease are sometimes referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease value the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such situations there is often little upside in purchasing the reversionary interest unless savings on ground rent and maintenance charges justify it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Birmingham Midshires | Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage. |
| 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. |
| Halifax | 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. |
The lawyers that we work with procure Wimbledon 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.
In 2014 Ryan, came very near to the eighty-year threshold with the lease on his ground floor apartment in Wimbledon. In buying his home two decades ago, the length of the lease was of minimal interest. by good luck, it dawned on him that he would soon be paying an escalated premium for a lease extension. Ryan arranged for a lease extension at the eleventh hour last January. Ryan and the landlord who owned the flat above eventually agreed on sum of £6,000 . If the lease had slid lower than 80 years, the price would have escalated by a minimum £1,050.
Last Spring we were contacted by Mr and Mrs. E Turner , who purchased a basement apartment in Wimbledon in November 2006. We are asked if we could estimate the compensation to the landlord would be to extend the lease by a further 90 years. Comparable flats in Wimbledon with 100 year plus lease were valued about £225,800. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £60 billed quarterly. The lease elapsed in 2084. Taking into account 60 years outstanding we estimated the premium to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £24,700 and £28,600 exclusive of professional charges.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Wimbledon property is 629 Garratt Lane in September 2014. The consideration payable for the acquisition of the freehold of the subject property was the sum £21,302.74. This represented a valuation of the freehold in the sum of £23,864 from which the sum of £2561.27 has been deducted in respect of certain costs in repairing and insuring the premises This case related to 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72.94 years.