Extending a Lease, It's Never Too Soon - By: Tim Bishop

It common for those owning a flat to own it as a leaseholder rather than a freeholder. All this means is that the flat is on a long-term rental agreement where the landlord owns the title to the property rather than you. This article explores how extending a lease can improve your position.

Leases are normally issued for a long and set period of time, such as 99 years, although this seems like a huge period of time, it will soon diminish. This has the effect of reducing the value of the property but perhaps even more important the property will become harder to sell. If you allowed the lease to revert, this would mean that the property would be owned by the landlord and as a tenant the property would be valueless.

As with any property investment it makes sense to protect your leasehold investment by being fully informed about how many years are remaining on your lease. You will be shocked, particularly if you want to sell your property.

For instance if you have say, almost 80 years remaining, whilst this may sound a long time, many buyers will simply not entertain purchasing a property with "only" this time remaining. Not only this, but lenders are very reluctant to mortgage monies on leases that have less than 80 years to run.

Consequently a high proportion of buyers would not consider a property with less than 90/95 years remaining on the lease.

To make sure you protect your property investment, and with even relatively new leases which still have 90 years or more remaining you should consider a lease extension. If you own a leasehold property with between 70 and 90 years remaining, then extending your lease is something that should be high on your priorities.

Leaseholders have the right of extending a lease for up to a further 90 years, under the 1993 Leasehold Reform Act and the earlier you can take action the less it will cost. If you have owned your lease for at least 2 years, then professional advice would be along the lines of don't put off extending your lease. Avoiding expense now will only add to the price you need to pay later.

Leasehold extensions can be difficult to manage without the help of a specialist solicitor, seek advice to make sure you are protected. By bringing direct experience of extending leaseholds they will be able to help you avoid an unnecessary stress and make the process as simple as possible.

About the Author

Do you need some specialist advice on extending a lease? Bonallack & Bishops are a firm of specialists who deal with Leasehold Extensions. Tim Bishop, the firm's senior partner, is responsible for all major strategic decisions, seeing himself as a businessman who owns a law firm. Tim has expanded the firm by 1000% in 13 years and has plans for its continued development.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Tim-Bishop/62652

Additional Articles From - Home | Reference & education | Legal