About to place a bid on a leasehold property in Falconwood. The property agents advise that it is normal for flats in Falconwood to have less than 75 years left on the lease. I am obtaining a loan with The Mortgage Works. Will the property be mortgageable given that the lease has 69 years left.
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are getting a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. The Mortgage Works have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 9/1/2026 the requirements read as follows :
Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:
Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.
SECOND HAND PROPERTIES
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 70 years
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period less than or equal to 5 years
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 70 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1.0% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI
NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house
- Any lease which is subject to a ground rent (or annual rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a ground rent (or annual rent) being reviewed and altered on any review basis or methodology
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1.0% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn ground rent (annual rent) charges
For the avoidance of doubt, any new build properties completed but not sold pre 30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the lease conforms to the above guidance
* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years
LEASE EXTENSIONS
We require all lease extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to the Issuing Office
Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.
We are buying a 3 bedroom semi in Falconwood. Our aim is to carry out an extension to the side at the property.Will the conveyancing process involve checks to see if these alterations are allowed?
Your property lawyer will review the deeds as conveyancing in Falconwood can sometimes identify restrictions in the title documents which prohibit categories of alterations or need the consent of a 3rd party. Many works call for local authority planning permissions and approval in compliance with building regulations. Many locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.
Can you help - my lawyer advises that lack of planning permission insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Falconwood conveyancing?
The right level of lack of planning permission indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Nationwide Building Society and Skipton Building Society. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Barclays, do Falconwood solicitors incur a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
How does conveyancing in Falconwood differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Falconwood approach us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is constructed. This is because builders in Falconwood tend to acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Falconwood or who has acted in the same development.
I am looking into buying my first house which is in Falconwood and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Falconwood. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Falconwood area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Falconwood. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
Am I best advised to appoint a Falconwood conveyancing solicitor based in the area that I am buying? I have an old university friend who can perform the legal formalities but they are based 400kilometers away.
The primary upside of using a local Falconwood conveyancing firm is that you can visit the firm to sign documents, present your ID and pester them if necessary. They will also have local knowledge which is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have instructed your friend and they were impressed that must surpass using an unknown Falconwood conveyancing lawyer just because they are based in the area.
I have been Googling for Falconwood online conveyancing estimates. Can I be sure that all the Falconwood law firms that are identified on your site are on the bank conveyancing panel?
The solicitor and licensed conveyancing practices listed on our site have advised us that they are on the lender panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the mortgage company panel. To date we have not been informed by either a lender or a member of the public that the data about a specific Falconwood firm being on the bank conveyancing panel is incorrect.