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Lease Below 70 years - remortgage / lease extension advice
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MJS996
Posts: 61 Forumite
Hello all,
I am looking for some advice – I have blindly walked into a situation with my lease that I now need to resolve. This is the background:
I own a flat which I used to use as a second home during the week whilst I worked away from home (it made more sense to pay a mortgage than rent somewhere). A year back I changed work and didn’t need the flat, so I obtained permission from my lender (Halifax) to let the flat. That permission is now coming to an end, and I as I have no use for the flat and don’t particularly want to sell it, I started looking at moving to a BTL mortgage.
I spoke to a lender (Virgin Money) last week and the question was asked – is there at least 70 years left on the lease. This is where me blindly stumbling into things comes into focus – I hadn’t checked and was unaware of leasehold property laws. On checking my lease, I find I have 69 years remaining.
I’ve used the calculators and based on a current market value of approx. £190000, I could be looking at anything between £12k and £18k to extend the lease, depending on which online calculator I use.
So, I’m slightly stuck. I’m struggling to remortgage, I doubt I can easily sell, and my permission to let is coming to an end.
My first action will be to call my current lender (Halifax) and enquire about moving over to a BTL mortgage (current is SVR with permission to let granted), but really I need to free up some cash to pay for the lease extension.
Questions:
Are there any other lenders who would take on a lease with less than 70 years?
How long might it take to extend a lease (on average) – I’m reading it could take a year depending on how cooperative the freeholder is?
Frustratingly, I’m disappointed that on checking the details, there were only 84 years left on the lease when I purchased the flat, and my solicitor didn’t warn me that I would need to act quickly once I’d had the flat for 2 years and now I’m facing a much larger expense.
Appreciate any help, advice etc.
Thanks
I am looking for some advice – I have blindly walked into a situation with my lease that I now need to resolve. This is the background:
I own a flat which I used to use as a second home during the week whilst I worked away from home (it made more sense to pay a mortgage than rent somewhere). A year back I changed work and didn’t need the flat, so I obtained permission from my lender (Halifax) to let the flat. That permission is now coming to an end, and I as I have no use for the flat and don’t particularly want to sell it, I started looking at moving to a BTL mortgage.
I spoke to a lender (Virgin Money) last week and the question was asked – is there at least 70 years left on the lease. This is where me blindly stumbling into things comes into focus – I hadn’t checked and was unaware of leasehold property laws. On checking my lease, I find I have 69 years remaining.
I’ve used the calculators and based on a current market value of approx. £190000, I could be looking at anything between £12k and £18k to extend the lease, depending on which online calculator I use.
So, I’m slightly stuck. I’m struggling to remortgage, I doubt I can easily sell, and my permission to let is coming to an end.
My first action will be to call my current lender (Halifax) and enquire about moving over to a BTL mortgage (current is SVR with permission to let granted), but really I need to free up some cash to pay for the lease extension.
Questions:
Are there any other lenders who would take on a lease with less than 70 years?
How long might it take to extend a lease (on average) – I’m reading it could take a year depending on how cooperative the freeholder is?
Frustratingly, I’m disappointed that on checking the details, there were only 84 years left on the lease when I purchased the flat, and my solicitor didn’t warn me that I would need to act quickly once I’d had the flat for 2 years and now I’m facing a much larger expense.
Appreciate any help, advice etc.
Thanks
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