I have 7378 less than 75 years left on my lease and need a lease extension for my apartment in Horwich. Conveyancing solicitors on the The Mortgage Works panel can deal with such extensions right?
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are securing 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 16/3/2025 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.
My lawyer has informed me that absentee landlord insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Horwich?
The right level of absentee landlord indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between HSBC Bank and The Mortgage Works. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.
I happen to be the only beneficiary of my late mum's will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Horwich. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in February. I plan to dispose of the property. I understand that there is a CML 6 month 'rule', meaning my property ownership may be treated the same way as if I'd bought the property in February. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook mandates conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you could be affected by that. How sensible a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this provision principally exists to capture subsales or the quick reselling of properties.
I can not work out if my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have called into my local Horwich building society branch on a couple of occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they would lend. My Horwich conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend in accordance with their published requirements. Who do I believe?
The conveyancing practitioner has to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook section two provisions for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
What can a local search tell me concerning the house we're purchasing in Horwich?
Horwich conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for instance PSG The local search is essential in every Horwich conveyancing purchase; that is if you don’t want any unpleasant surprises after you move into your property. The search should provide data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic areas.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £305k and identified one near me in Horwich I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 years on the lease. There is not much else in Horwich suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
In surfing the web for the phrase on line conveyancing in Horwich it brings up numerous solicitorsin the vicinity. With so much choice what is the best way to find the suitable conveyancing solicitor for me?
The preferential way of finding the right conveyancer is via trusted recommendation, so enquire of friends and relatives who have acquired a property in Horwich or a reputable estate agent or mortgage broker. Charges for conveyancing in Horwich differ, so it's advisable to secure a minimum of four quotes from varying types of conveyancers. Dont forget to clarify that the costs are guaranteed not to to be inflated.
The property lawyers undertaking our conveyancing in Horwich has forwarded documents to review that indicate that the property is unregistered with epitome documents. Surely all houses in Horwich are registered?
The majority of property in Horwich is registered. An 'epitome' is basically a dossier of photocopies of documents affecting an unregistered title. Many Horwich conveyancing practitioners should be able to handle such matters but if any uncertainty exists the standard proposition nowadays appears to be for the seller to address the registration formalities first and thereafter deal with the dispose of the property to the purchaser - this will have a knock on effect to cause a protracted conveyancing.