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Main reasons to start your Oldham lease extension


Main reasons to commence your Oldham lease extension today:

A Oldham leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

Oldham leases on domestic deteriorating in value. Where your lease has in the region of ninety years remaining, you should start thinking about a lease extension. If lease term falls under 80 years, you will then have to pay 50% of the property's 'marriage value' on top of the usual cost of the lease extension to your landlord. Marriage value is the amount of additional value that a lease extension will add to the property. Flat owners in Oldham will usually qualify for a lease extension; however a solicitor will check if you qualify. In some circumstances you may not be entitled. There are also strict timetables and procedures to follow once the process is triggered so it’s best to be guided by a conveyancer during the process.

An extended lease has roughly the same value as a freehold

Leasehold properties in Oldham with in excess of one hundred years left on the lease are often referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your premises. In such situations there is often little to be gained by purchasing the freehold unless savings on ground rent and estate charges merit it.

Mortgage lenders may decide not to lend on a short lease

Almost all banks and building societies will not grant a mortgage on a lease with under seventy years left to run - although this varies between mortgage companies. A buyer will undoubtedly find it difficult to obtain a mortgage and this could result in your Oldham property being difficult to sell or remortgage.

Lender Requirement
Chelsea 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.
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.
National Westminster Bank Mortgage term plus 30 years.
Nationwide Building Society - Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years.
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).

Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:

Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.

New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer

Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.

SECOND HAND PROPERTIES

Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period is less than or equal to 5 years

Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 55 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial, etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary

Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI

NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)

Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined)
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis

Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary

Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn Ground Rent (Annual Rent) charges

For the avoidance of doubt, any New Build properties completed but not sold pre-30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the Lease conforms to the above guidance.

* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years.

Lease Extensions

We require all Lease Extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to Issuing Office.

Why use us for your lease extension in Oldham?

Irrespective of whether you are a tenant or a freeholder in Oldham,the lease extension experts that we work with will always be prepared to discuss any residential leasehold matters and offer you the benefit of their in-depth market knowledge and the close ties they enjoy with Oldham valuers.

Oldham Lease Extension Example Cases:

Amy, Oldham, Greater Manchester,

In the wake of 6 months of unsuccessful discussions with the freeholder of her basement flat in Oldham, Amy started the lease extension process just as the lease was coming close to the critical eighty-year mark. The lease extension completed in August 2013. The landlord’s costs were restricted to under 500 pounds.

Oldham case:

In 2012 we were approached by Dr Logan Gómez who, having acquired a studio apartment in Oldham in July 2002. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would likely be for a 90 year lease extension. Comparative residencies in Oldham with 100 year plus lease were valued around £191,400. The mid-range amount of ground rent was £55 invoiced annually. The lease expired in 2078. Having 54 years as a residual term we estimated the premium to the freeholder for the lease extension to be between £34,200 and £39,600 not including costs.

Oldham case:

Mr and Mrs. D Ward took over the lease of a studio flat in Oldham in June 2003. We are asked if we could approximate the price could be for a 90 year lease extension. Identical flats in Oldham with a long lease were worth £295,000. The average amount of ground rent was £45 collected annually. The lease finished in 2098. Given that there were 74 years outstanding we calculated the compensation to the freeholder to extend the lease to be between £9,500 and £11,000 not including expenses.