Chances are that where you own a flat in Plaistow you actually own a long leasehold interest over your property
Leasehold properties in Plaistow with more than one hundred years remaining on the lease are sometimes referred to as ‘virtual freehold’. This is where the lease is worth the same as a freehold interest in your property. In such situations there is often little upside in buying the freehold unless savings on ground rent and service charges justify it.
| Lender | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Barclays plc | Leases with less than 70 years at the commencement of the mortgage should be declined (see exception below). Leases with greater than 70 years but fewer than 85 years remaining must be referred to issuing office. 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; |
| 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. |
| 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 |
The conveyancers that we work with handle Plaistow 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 conveyancing solicitor we work with provide it.
Henry owned a conversion flat in Plaistow on the market with a lease of a little over 72 years remaining. Henry informally approached his freeholder being a well known London-based freehold company and enquired on a premium to extend the lease. The freeholder was keen to agree an extension on non-statutory terms taking the lease to 125 years subject to a rise in the rent to £50 annually. No ground rent would be payable on a lease extension were Henry to invoke his statutory right. Henry procured expert legal guidance and was able to make an informed judgement and deal with the matter and sell the flat.
Last year we were called by Dr P Gunderson , who bought a recently refurbished apartment in Plaistow in March 1997. We are asked if we could shed any light on how much (roughly) premium could be to extend the lease by ninety years. Comparable residencies in Plaistow with a long lease were in the region of £208,200. The average ground rent payable was £65 collected quarterly. The lease elapsed in 2085. Having 61 years left we estimated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be between £20,000 and £23,000 not including legals.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Plaistow flat is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 69.77 years.