58 years left on lease hold flat....

cart1984

Hi All,

Wondering if you will be able to give me some advice as getting myself in a pickle at present.....

Bought my flat june 2007 for 107,500. Since then the housing market has crashed and flat above me has sold recently for as little as 83k.

When buying the property the leasehold was mentioned by my solicitor but i was told that it was fine and nothing to worry about....

After watching a tv program where this was mentioned i thought i would check my legal docs from when i bought to see the amount of years left. 99years from september 1972 was what i found!!

Does anyone have any idea how much it will cost to extend this back up to 99 years? at present i pay £20 a year ground rent!

Thanks in advance !

Fire_Fox

Sounds like a silly question but are you sure you or the vendor didn't extend at the time of purchase, did you get a mortgage on a lease that short? Was the price incredibly competitive?

Calculator here
http://www.lease-advice.org/
Statutory process here, you can extend by 90 years
http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/documents/document.asp?item=8
http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/documents/document.asp?item=10

cart1984

Hi,

Im sure the lease wasnt extended prior to the completion.....

I got a 30 year mortgage without any problems

cart1984

the price wasnt particuarly competetive either tbh!

Fire_Fox

I honestly don't know how you got a mortgage so easily on a lease that short, even at the peak of the market. Less than 80 years can be a problem which is why I wonder if you are missing documents. IMO go back to your conveyancing solicitor and query this.

cart1984

ive got the official copy of register of title from the land registry....

That is where i found in section A, Part 3, the short particulars of the lease...... that is where it stats 99 years from october 1972

if that helps?

GregDixon

The calculators linked to above will enable you to work out the approximate cost of extending the lease, but you should expect to pay between 10 and 15k I would imagine including the legal fee's.

Buzby

When I bought mine it originally had a 999 year lease, with 979 left to run, paying £8pa half-yearly. Some 30 years on, the leaseholder has done everything to get me to buy out the ground lease, but I'm not interested, as the costs (legal) are too high.

I wouldn't worry until you get down to 30 or less - and much can happen to make the leaseholder want to get out of it too!

tim123456789

Buzby wrote: »

When I bought mine it originally had a 999 year lease, with 979 left to run, paying £8pa half-yearly. Some 30 years on, the leaseholder has done everything to get me to buy out the ground lease, but I'm not interested, as the costs (legal) are too high.

I wouldn't worry until you get down to 30 or less - and much can happen to make the leaseholder want to get out of it too!

The lease price will go up by approx 1000 for each year that he delays

not doing it for another 25 years might not cause him a problem

but it will cost him 25K that he doesn't have to pay.

This is very much "a stich in time save 9" territory.

To OP

a statutory 90 year extension at a peppercorn rent (pretty much what you are paying now), will cost you about 15K

accepting a new 99 year lease at a "modern" GR of 200 pounds doubling every 25 years, ought to be 5K cheaper

Annisele

If you've got 900+ years left on your lease, you won't have a problem in your lifetime (or in your great-great-grandchildren's lifetime).

The OP already has a problem; if his lease really is that short there are already lenders who won't lend on it. For example, Halifax says it won't lend if there are less than 70 years left on the lease.

cart1984

:(just spoke to chancery st james who the leasehold is with and they have confirmed that it runs untill 2071.

I asked how much it would be to extend the lease and they said to send in a letter as they dont have the figures at hand...

:(:(