If you own a property with less than 80 years left to run on the lease then you should act quickly to extend it.
Mortgage lenders are becoming increasingly cautious about lending on properties with less than 80 years left on the lease which could limit your options when you come to sell or remortgage. The only way to address this is to extend your lease or buy the freehold.
What are the reasons why you should extend your Lease?
- To avoid paying the “marriage value” of the property. (This is an additional charge on top of the normal lease premium payable to your landlord, and is based on the additional value added to your property if the lease is extended. If the term of your lease drops below 80 years you may be liable to pay this additional cost);
- To remove the ground rent from lease;
- To increase the value of your property;
- To improve the marketability of your property.
If any of the points above apply to your circumstances and you have owned your property for more than two years then you may be eligible to apply to your landlord to extend your lease. Rowlinsons Solicitors have extensive experience in dealing with lease extensions. We can prepare the necessary paperwork in this regard and negotiate with your landlord on your behalf.
For further information or to speak to a member of our team please call 01928 735 333 or click here for a call back.
For an indication of the possible cost of the premium for extending your lease we would recommend consulting the Leasehold Advisory Service’s Calculator at https://www.lease-advice.org/calculator/. Please note that any such costs are indicative, and we would strongly recommend that a professional valuer is instructed to advise as to the premium.
Rowlinsons Solicitors are members of The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP).
Formed in 2007 and now with 249+ member organisations, ALEP is a not-for-profit association that brings together barristers, managing agents, project managers, solicitors and surveyors working in the residential leasehold sector. ALEP promotes best practice by vetting organisations and individual barristers to ensure they have significant expertise in leasehold enfranchisement. Membership of ALEP acts as a badge of assurance so that flat owners and freeholders can be confident that they are employing professionals with the right level of experience in handling potentially complex transactions.