Leasehold Extensions - Why It's Never Too Soon

Many of us at some point in our lives choose to live in a flat. It could be a more economical first property purchase or a convenient style of living in retirement.

Flats are commonly bought on a leasehold basis (rather than the freehold) and owners are normally in the dark as to what this means for their property rights.

A leasehold is in effect a long term rental agreement, at the end of which, the freehold does revert back to the landlord and you will loose your rights over the property. Obviously then, the longer the term of the lease the better.

The term of a lease is created when the property is new and they are normally issued for a defined period of time i.e. 99 years, this may sound like a long time. Consequently many owners simply forget about their lease on the basis that they won't be around when it does expire. Other leaseholders may just accept the inevitable as they do not know any different.

Many people do not know that the value of their lease is actually decreasing along with the term and this effect will be felt the most when they come to sell.

But not only value can be affected, many buyers will simply not entertain purchasing a leasehold property with less than 90-95 years remaining on the lease and should that period be below 80 years a good many lenders will simply not consider offering a mortgage. In light of this, as time moves on your property will become harder to sell and will be worth less money.

Many leaseholders are probably not aware that they have the right to extend a lease and yet the 1993 Leasehold Reform Act gives them the right to extend a lease for up to a further 90 years.

Extending a lease can sometimes be a complicated process, however the end results far outweigh this as it increases the value of your property and makes selling a whole lot easier.

The sooner you take action the less complex it will be and the less it will cost. Taking advice from an experienced leasehold solicitor will make sure that you follow the correct process in extending your lease and will help protect your financial investment.


------

Bonallack & Bishop are specialist solicitors dealing with Leasehold Extensions. If you need advice on extending a lease contact one of their solicitors today. Tim Bishop is senior partner at the firm, responsible for all major strategic decisions. He has grown the firm by 1000% in 13 years and sees himself as a businessman who owns a law firm.