Lease extension advice

keanelover

Hi everyone.

I am a newbie and after some advice on the extending my lease this year on a flat I have owned for 4 years. There are 70 years left on the current lease (I wish my solicitor advised me this was a high risk at the time but thats another story!) Anyhow I now think its time to sort this out before it becomes a big problem. What sort of loan do you think is best when it comes to financing this? I am currently benefiting from the current low interest rates, I have a repayment mortgage and have about £93500 left and the property is probably worth around £110k (paid £125 4 years ago) so I think I should just about have enough equity to refinance. Do I remortgage, or are there other more viable options? Can I borrow against the current mortgage without having to commit to another 2-3 year term?

Anyway hopefully there is enough experts on here to help out a total financial numpty and I know this will be a costly exercise so I look forward to your replies.

Many thanks
H:beer:

Burridge60

A property with an extended lease will have a "premium" compared to one that does not have an extended lease or there would be little point spending the money. Check this out first. EAs are your best friends for this exercise!

Find a solicitor that has carried out some lease extensions in your area. Ask your neighbours first if they have extended their lease or enquired about it. That will be the cheap way to find out ball park figures of what you might need. If there are a number of you who want to extend all dealing with the same freeholder that might also benefit you in shared legal costs and a "deal" from the FH (don't hold your breath on either).

Most lenders would consider the lease extension to be an improvement in their security but they will weigh up the potential value against the borrowing you seek from them.

notisis

Hi
You might want to take a look at http://www.lease-advice.org/ which provides free advice on leasehold properties. If you look there's a section on extending your lease. It might give you some pointers on the type of costs you might incur to give you an idea of how much extra you are going to need to borrow; whether by remortgaging/additional loan or using your credit card if feasible! Friends of mine managed to add the £10k it cost them to their mortgage but obviously it will depend on your personal circumstances; ltv and affordability etc.