Extend Your Lease guide discussion

liam1989

hello again people.

im going to get the ball rolling extending this pain in the a*** lease : ), however i one quick question.

im going to get a surveyor to value the property, however im just wondering roughly how much will this cost me?

many thanks

SKPatel

liam1989 wrote: »

hello again people.

im going to get the ball rolling extending this pain in the a*** lease : ), however i one quick question.

im going to get a surveyor to value the property, however im just wondering roughly how much will this cost me?

many thanks

Hello Liam1989,

The fees vary depending on the location and sometimes experience of the surveyor. Make sure the surveyor you instruct is experienced in lease extension valuations rather than just market valuations. I would suggest the ALEP website and the RICS website is a good starting point to find surveyors in your area.

Good luck!

liam1989

SKPatel wrote: »

Hello Liam1989,

The fees vary depending on the location and sometimes experience of the surveyor. Make sure the surveyor you instruct is experienced in lease extension valuations rather than just market valuations. I would suggest the ALEP website and the RICS website is a good starting point to find surveyors in your area.

Good luck!

many thanks Saje, your help is very much appreciated.

im going to try and get in touch with the freeholder again (she didnt reply to my initial letter i sent last month for a quote), before i go ahead with getting a solicitor, survey done etc

Tomato

Hi

I would like some advice please.

Could anyone recommend a letter template to use when approaching freeholder for a quote for lease extension?

I have a flat with 75 years left on the lease. I would like to sell the flat this year. My neighbour’s flat is identical to mine, 75 years LH, is marketed at £115k. It’s been on and off the market for a year. My flat is in a better state (new kitchen and new bathroom). I would like to extend the lease to make the property more appealing to buyers.

I am planning to speak to estate agents as well, especially those who marketed my neighbour’s flat.

Thank you in advance.

plainlazy

I purchased a flat in 2011 which has 74 years remaining on the lease, so I won't have the statutory right to extend it for the best part of another year.

Is anybody able to share their experiences of starting the lease extension process before owning their property for two years?

I wrote to my freeholder recently asking whether they would be willing to do it; they replied requesting £100 to cover their valuation fee and administrative costs in order to calculate a quote. Does this charge seem reasonable at this stage? I was hoping I’d be able to ‘test the water’ before incurring any costs and get an indication of whether it is worth me pursuing this any further before 2013. If I’m going to get an uncompetitive quote from the freeholder and they are unwilling to negotiate as I don’t have the ability to serve a notice then I don’t want to be wasting my money on valuation fees and solicitors. Do I just have to accept the risk of wasting £100 for potentially receiving a ridiculous quote that they won’t budge on until next year? I understand that I'd be liable for their reasonable costs & valuation fees but thought this might be further down the line during the negotiations stage?

I don't actually know what the valuation consists of for their initial quote. Sticking the basic details into a lease extension calculator and multiplying it by whatever takes their fancy?

SKPatel

Tomato wrote: »

Hi

I would like some advice please.

Could anyone recommend a letter template to use when approaching freeholder for a quote for lease extension?

I have a flat with 75 years left on the lease. I would like to sell the flat this year. My neighbour’s flat is identical to mine, 75 years LH, is marketed at £115k. It’s been on and off the market for a year. My flat is in a better state (new kitchen and new bathroom). I would like to extend the lease to make the property more appealing to buyers.

I am planning to speak to estate agents as well, especially those who marketed my neighbour’s flat.

Thank you in advance.

A simple letter just stating that you would like to extend your lease and you would like to know what terms the freeholder proposes as well as the cost should be sufficient. Once you have a reply from your freeholder, you may want to seek advice from an experienced surveyor regarding the terms and cost proposed.

SKPatel

plainlazy wrote: »

I purchased a flat in 2011 which has 74 years remaining on the lease, so I won't have the statutory right to extend it for the best part of another year.

Is anybody able to share their experiences of starting the lease extension process before owning their property for two years?

I wrote to my freeholder recently asking whether they would be willing to do it; they replied requesting £100 to cover their valuation fee and administrative costs in order to calculate a quote. Does this charge seem reasonable at this stage? I was hoping I’d be able to ‘test the water’ before incurring any costs and get an indication of whether it is worth me pursuing this any further before 2013. If I’m going to get an uncompetitive quote from the freeholder and they are unwilling to negotiate as I don’t have the ability to serve a notice then I don’t want to be wasting my money on valuation fees and solicitors. Do I just have to accept the risk of wasting £100 for potentially receiving a ridiculous quote that they won’t budge on until next year? I understand that I'd be liable for their reasonable costs & valuation fees but thought this might be further down the line during the negotiations stage?

I don't actually know what the valuation consists of for their initial quote. Sticking the basic details into a lease extension calculator and multiplying it by whatever takes their fancy?

When you're trying to negotiate informally with the freeholder, it is not unusual for them to request a fee upfront for a valuation. I have known this to be anywhere between £100-£250. If after a valuation has been carried out you cannot agree terms then as you mention, you may have to wait until you do qualify for a statutory lease extension - it is unlikely you will recover the £100 either.

Unfortunately, your freeholder may well know that you do not qualify for a statutory lease extension and there is a chance that they could use this to their advantage. You may wish to take advice from a surveyor as to whether the freeholder's valuation and proposal is reasonable.

LallyPops

Hi all

Not sure if someone could offer some advice?

Myself and two other owners of flats in my block are looking to extend each of our leases. They're short - 60 years at the moment - and will hit 59 towards the end of June. The freeholder wanted £16,700 to extend by 125 years but backdate to 1993 (no idea why!) and also have the ground rent doubling every 21 years £150 increasing).

The three owners have clubbed together and had an independent survey done, which valued the lease extension between £12-£14k. This was based on terms which we believe we would get if we went to the LVT - so a peppercorn ground rent and the lease of 90 years (in addition to the current 60).


We have therefore entered negotiations with the freeholder and he has come back with £15,500 lease extension price which also complies to our preferred terms. He has stated that the freeholders' legal fees are likely to be £750+VAT per flat and likewise, the surveyors fees £600 per flat. I should add that the freeholders is the surveyor and so the £600 per flat would be for his time.

We are now deciding our next move but are left wondering about the freeholders fees and whether they are reasonable and fair? Our surveyor charged £200 for one flat plus £50 for each subsequent, so £300 in total! Therefore £600 each seems a lot when you consider that the flats are identical. Does anyone else have experience of surveyors costs and the freeholders legal fees so we could compare? Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

af2909_2

In the case of an absentee landlord, do you have to take the full 90 year extension or can you have a shorter lease (i.e. from 65 years to 99 years) at a lower premium?

SKPatel

LallyPops wrote: »

Hi all

Not sure if someone could offer some advice?

Myself and two other owners of flats in my block are looking to extend each of our leases. They're short - 60 years at the moment - and will hit 59 towards the end of June. The freeholder wanted £16,700 to extend by 125 years but backdate to 1993 (no idea why!) and also have the ground rent doubling every 21 years £150 increasing).

The three owners have clubbed together and had an independent survey done, which valued the lease extension between £12-£14k. This was based on terms which we believe we would get if we went to the LVT - so a peppercorn ground rent and the lease of 90 years (in addition to the current 60).


We have therefore entered negotiations with the freeholder and he has come back with £15,500 lease extension price which also complies to our preferred terms. He has stated that the freeholders' legal fees are likely to be £750+VAT per flat and likewise, the surveyors fees £600 per flat. I should add that the freeholders is the surveyor and so the £600 per flat would be for his time.

We are now deciding our next move but are left wondering about the freeholders fees and whether they are reasonable and fair? Our surveyor charged £200 for one flat plus £50 for each subsequent, so £300 in total! Therefore £600 each seems a lot when you consider that the flats are identical. Does anyone else have experience of surveyors costs and the freeholders legal fees so we could compare? Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Freeholders and surveyors fees vary depending on their location and size. You could expect legal fees of between £800 -£1200 plus VAT and sometimes fees up to £2500 plus VAT where you have served a formal notice to extend lease. Some freeholders may reduce their fees slightly where they are dealing with several flats in one matter.

Equally, the valuation fees you have been quoted are not altogether unreasonable but given that the freeholder is likely to inspect all three flats in one visit, i find it difficult to understand how he will incur £1800 in time.