Do you own a leasehold flat in Bristol? If so, you should be thinking about extending your lease. Those who delay lease extensions end up paying a heavy price – so get in touch with our solicitors today to get yours out of the way.

Bristol is currently home to more than 437,500 people, and it’s growing all the time. As a vibrant cultural hub, Bristol has an increasing rental and leasehold market with more and more people looking to buy a home in the city. In fact, the population has boomed from just 380,615 at the time of the 2001 census, making it one of the fastest growing cities in the UK.

The growing demand for properties in Bristol has meant that buying a leasehold flat or apartment has become increasingly popular – enabling, in particular, young people and couples to get on the housing ladder when perhaps they simply can’t manage the expense of buying a house.

Want to know more about lease extension question? Call our specialist solicitors on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice – with no strings attached.

WHY BOTHER EXTENDING YOUR LEASE?

Extending your lease increases the value of your flat

The shorter the remaining length of your lease, the less valuable your property will be should you decide to sell.

Therefore, the longer your leave your leasehold extension, the more value you lose on the property. By contrast, properties with very long leases will hold far greater value and may even fetch a similar price to a flat with joint freehold. Extending your lease makes your flat easy to sell

Flats with short leases are often very hard to sell.

Potential buyers are almost always more likely to buy flats with longer leases. One of the reasons for that is that many lenders simply won’t lend on short leases. So if, for example you let your lease drop as low as 50, you may find that the only buyers able to purchase your property are cash buyers – and they’ll be looking for a real bargain and looking to drive your price down

Extend your Lease and pay zero ground rent

If you extend your lease you will only have to pay what is known as “a peppercorn rent”  which is effectively zero. Most leases have clauses allowing for regular increases in ground rent – often every 10 years but sometimes more often. And older leases also tend to have much bigger permitted increases in those regular ground rent reviews. So paying a peppercorn rent can save you a lot of money

HOW WILL A SPECIALIST LEASE EXTENSION SOLICITOR HELP YOU?

If you instruct one of our lease extension solicitors you will be giving yourself the best chance of securing a fair deal for your lease extension. Many generalist lawyers today are tempted to experiment with lease extension work only to make serious mistakes. By contrast, our solicitors understand the complexities of this area of law and can help you with the following:

• Managing the lease extension timetable: strict deadlines apply to lease extension work so it is important that your solicitor is able to manage the process and collect all relevant information in time

• Finding a surveyor: it is crucial that you find a reputable surveyor to value your lease. Our solicitors will be able to put you in touch with experts

• Dealing with difficult landlords: Many landlords either refuse to co-operate or deliberately impede negotiations. The aim of this is to let your lease run down below the crucial 80 year mark when prices for extension rise dramatically. Should they continue to act obstructively, your solicitor will be able to apply to the First-Tier Property Tribunal

• Drafting legal documents and typing up loose ends post-completion

lease extension marriage value

BRISTOL LEASE EXTENSIONS – OUR EXPERT TEAM CAN HELP

If you instruct the specialist lease extension team and Bonallack & Bishop you will receive advice from acknowledged experts. And we are members of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Solicitors.

Our three-strong team of leasehold extension experts contains a wealth of experience and would be happy to help you with your property –  and lease extension and freehold purchase is all they do .

How much does lease extension cost? Click here to find out

WHAT DOES A LEASE EXTENSION VALUATION SURVEYOR DO?

If you’re going to extend your lease, you’ll need to instruct a specialist surveyor who specializes in determining the value of a property for the purpose of extending the lease. And very few surveyors specialise in this area.

Properly valuing the premium you will need to pay to your freeholder is important because it forms the basis of negotiations between the leaseholder and the freeholder regarding the cost of extending the lease.

The surveyor considers various factors such as the remaining length of the lease, the condition of the property, local property market trends, and the leaseholder’s right to extend their lease, among others. The surveyor will then provide an estimate of the cost of extending the lease, taking into account any potential increase in value that may result from the extension. This information can be used by both the leaseholder and the freeholder to reach an agreement on the terms of the lease extension.

With 25 years of experience in extending leases for leaseholders nationwide, we have developed an informal panel of surveyors who really understand lease extension valuation. If you would like an introduction to 1 of them who covers the Bristol area, just let us know. We regularly appoint specialist valuers on behalf of our clients as part of our one-stop shop service.

FOR ADVICE ON EXTENDING YOUR LEASE – CONTACT OUR SPECIALISTS TODAY

Remember that the cost of extending your lease goes up with every month that passes.

So take action and contact us today to start the lease extension process. We needn’t see you in person and should be able to complete your lease extension by phone, email and Skype.

• Just call us on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for a FREE initial phone consultation and a FREE quote for your lease extension, OR

• Complete the email contact form below

Bradford has a population of over 530,000, according to 2023 statistics, which makes it one of the U.K.’s biggest cities – and it continues to grow. And it has around 30,000 flats, many of which are starting to suffer from short leases. And leaving it too long to extend your lease can lead to massive expense in the long run so it is important to start the process sooner rather than later. If you live in Bradford and you are looking to extend the lease on your flat, the dedicated lease extension team at Bonallack & Bishop can help.

Got a leasehold extension question? Call our specialist solicitors on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice – with no strings attached.

LEASE EXTENSION – APPOINTING AN EXPERT IS CRUCIAL

Your lease extension solicitor will need to understand the complexities of lease extension work and be aware of the various deadlines involved. Furthermore, your solicitor will need links with expert surveyors who will value the lease. These things require expertise and as a result it is crucial that your lease extension solicitor is a specialist.

Whilst the vast majority of landlords are very respectable, you may find yourself locked in negotiations with an unscrupulous landlord. If your lease runs below 80 years it costs far more to extend it and some landlords will attempt to stall negotiations so that the lease runs below this critical period. Lease extensions experts will recognise such scheming and be able to apply to a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal if necessary.

EXTENDING A LEASE – INSTRUCT ONE OF OUR SPECIALISTS

The word ‘specialist’ is bandied about a lot these days so it can be difficult to work our whether or not a solicitor genuinely specialises in lease extension work. We can take the guesswork out of choosing a lease extension solicitor because we are accredited experts. As well as being members of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners we are featured acknowledged as experts on Leasehold Advisory Website.and we are the only solicitors recommended for lease extension by the HomeOwners Alliance – the UK’s leading organisation who champion the interests of the country’s homeowners.

What’s more, we have a 5 strong team who only do lease extension, leasehold enfranchisement and right to manage company work – nothing else!

LEASEHOLD EXTENSIONS – YOUR RIGHTS

Were you aware there is legislation giving owners of leasehold flats and houses the right to increase the value of their property by extending their lease?

Provided it’s a residential flat we are talking about (there’s no automatic right to lease extension for commercial property) with a lease that was originally granted for a minimum of 21 years (most leases start at 99 or 125 years) and you have owned the property for at least 2 years, in general terms you are likely to be entitled to extend the term of your lease by a further 90 years – whether your freeholder likes it or not. and what’s more, if you use this formal statutory route to lease extension, you won’t need to pay any ground rent and future.

NB as an alternative, it is possible to reach an informal agreement with your freeholder to extend your lease. But that’s not a legal right – and your freeholder can pull out at any time, and there’s nothing you can do about it. But with a cooperative freeholder, and if you want something apart from the standard additional 90 years, a private voluntary or informal lease extension can work – but there are risks.

CONTACT US TODAY FOR EXPERT LEASE EXTENSION ADVICE TO TRUST

We act for clients throughout England and Wales. Our clients need not be able to meet us in office because we can see your lease extension through from start to finish, keeping in contact through Zoom, email or over the phone.

So if you are considering a lease extension in Bradford, for a free quote, to receive initial advice or to arrange a consultation, simply dial 01722 422300, or email us using the contact form below:

Manchester is the third largest city in England after London and Birmingham, and is home to more than 515,000 people. Although the city had long been neglected, it has boomed in recent years with enormous cultural developments and infrastructure projects including the new MediaCityUK building in Salford, home to the BBC.

What’s more, Manchester’s has seen an increasing number of privately owned leasehold flats and apartments – either purpose-built, converted from older purposes or bought from the council and social landlords

And everyone of those flat is going to need a lease extension at some time.

If you own the leasehold on a flat in Manchester, the chances are that you will need to extend your lease sooner rather than later. Putting off your lease extension will only lead to more expense when you eventually get round to it, so it is important that you act now.

Thinking about extending your lease? Got a question? Call our specialist solicitors on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice – with no strings attached.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A MANCHESTER LEASE EXTENSION SPECIALIST ONSIDE

The importance of instructing a specialist lease extension solicitor must not be underestimated. Lease extensions are highly specialist areas of property law and the relevant legislation is very complicated.

Many solicitors may believe that they have enough expertise to take on lease extension work only to find themselves struggling to meet their clients’ needs due to the complexity of the legal work. This is not the case with our accredited lease extension experts.

There are many deadlines involved in lease extension work and if one of these is missed it can cause enormous problems.

Furthermore, interacting with difficult landlords requires experience and a detailed knowledge of lease extension law. Sometimes landlords will attempt to stall negotiations so that it will cost the leaseholder far more to complete the residential lease extension process.

Solicitors must be able to identify these tricks and take the matter to first-tier property Tribunal [previously known as the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal] if necessary.

YOUR MANCHESTER LEASE EXTENSION – HOW WE CAN HELP

If you choose our leasehold extension solicitors you can be sure that you are appointing accredited experts. We are also members of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners.

We have a team of five lease extension experts.  Extending residential leases is all they do – with around 350 lease extensions being completed nationwide out by us each year.

So with our in-depth knowledge of the legal process,  you can trust us with the complicated drafting of documents and tight deadlines associated with your lease extension.

THE IMPORTANCE OF GETTING SPECIALIST VALUATION ADVICE WHEN EXTENDING A LEASE

A lease extension valuation surveyor is a specialist who you will need to accurately value the premium to be paid to your freeholder. They consider factors such as the condition of the property, existing length of the lease, local market trends, and rights to extend the lease that can all affect the cost of extending it.

With years of experience in helping people around 10,000 people like you extend their leases or by their freeholds nationwide, we have a panel of surveyors on standby who understand this specialised field to provide reliable valuations for our clients. And we are always happy to introduce you to 1 of them covers valuation in the extended Manchester area as part of our one-stop shop service.

LIVE IN MANCHESTER? LOOKING FOR A SPECIALIST LEASE EXTENSION SOLICITOR?

Our expert Lease Extension team can advise you wherever you live in the UK and we don’t even need to see you – taking your instructions by e-mail, phone and Skype video.

Don’t risk appointing a solicitor who doesn’t specialise in this complex field.

For a FREE initial phone consultation and a FREE quote for your lease extension,

• Simply, call our team now on FREEPHONE 0800 14045440 or,

• Fill out the contact form below to start receiving advice on the lease extension process.

Looking for Lawyers who specialise in extending leases?

Cardiff, as the capital city of Wales, has grown enormously in recent years – not least in the area surrounding the docks, where my grandad worked as a docker in the 1920s. City-wide development has seen it become a hub of business and industry as well as a burgeoning home to the creative arts.

The population of Cardiff grew by a massive 54,000 between the 2001 and 2011 censuses — a growth of 18.5%, which in turn has put upward pressure on property prices. And these two factors are the main reasons why Cardiff has an increasing number of purpose-built flats and buildings converted into flats or apartments

Any flat-owner who allows the term of their lease to dip below 80 years is likely to find themselves facing a high price for their lease extension. That is why it is so important to start the lease extension process sooner rather than later.

Thinking about extending your lease? Got a question? Call our specialist solicitors on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice – with no strings attached.

WHY SHOULD I EXTEND MY LEASE?

There are several reasons why you may want to consider extending your lease on your flat or apartment:

• As the length of the lease decreases, the value of the property decreases. By extending your lease, you can increase the value of the property and make it more attractive to potential buyers if you decide to sell in the future.
• It can be difficult to obtain a mortgage for a property with a short lease. Lenders are often unwilling to lend on properties with less than 70 years remaining on the lease, so extending the lease can make it easier to obtain financing.
• It can also be difficult to sell a property with a short lease, as it is less attractive to potential buyers. Extending the lease can increase the pool of potential buyers and make it easier to sell the property.
• If you are living in the property and want to stay, extending the lease ensures that you will have the right to remain in the property for a longer period of time.
• If the lease is very short it can be very expensive to extend, so it is a good idea to do it before it gets too short.

WHY A SPECIALIST SOLICITOR IS SO CRUCIAL

People often question the need for a specialist lease extension solicitor in the belief that extending a lease cannot be that complicated. This is a very risky approach. Why?:

• Lease extensions involve complex laws, drafting and tight deadlines

• Your freeholder is almost certain to instruct a specialist lease extension solicitor of their own

• Too many unscrupulous freeholders attempt to offer an informal or private lease extension  when a lease term is approaching the critical 80 year point – so that the lease runs below 80 years and costs far more to extend [click here to find out more about “marriage value” and the 80 year]

• Specialist lease extension solicitors will understand exactly how to help you if your lease extension becomes contentious – and an application to the First Tier property Tribunal [previously known as the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal or LVT) becomes necessary

WHY CHOOSE OUR SPECIALIST LEASE EXTENSION TEAM?

Many firms let property lawyers with little or no  experience of lease extension cases to “have a go” at lease extensions – we see this a lot and these dabblers often make a complete mess. We think that’s really dangerous and that their clients’ best interests are not protected.

Here at solicitors Bonallack and Bishop, we have a growing team of lease extension specialists. They don’t dabble. Lease extension leasehold enfranchisement and right to manage work is all they do. They are real experts.

We are also members of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners, the only organisation of specialist lease extension and enfranchisement solicitors and surveyors.

Click here for real case studies on how we have helped clients with extending leases.

Click here to read about what many of our clients and the specialist values we instruct really think about us.

How we can help

• Our team provides FREE no obligation initial telephone advice on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544
  AND
• We will provide you with a FREE ESTIMATE of how much it’s likely to cost you to extend your lease – which will include a rough idea of the  premium you’re likely to have to pay, along with both the legal and valuation costs.
  AND
• We offer a one-stop shop – as we regularly work alongside specialist lease extension valuers nationwide, we can help you pick the right one and instruct them on your behalf
  AND
• Our team can handle the lease extension process from start to finish –all the way, if necessary, to the First-Tier Tribunal – Property Chamber (Residential Property))

LOOKING AT A CARDIFF LEASE EXTENSION? CONTACT OUR SPECIALISTS TODAY

You don’t need to come in and see us to instruct us for your lease extension. We have dealt with many thousands of lease extensions over the years and our clients come from all over England and Wales – and almost all of them never actually meet us in person but stay in contact over the phone, using email or Zoom video.

To save yourself worry and expense, start your lease extension process started today by getting in touch with our team –

• for FREE initial no strings advice, call us now on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544
  OR
• email us using the contact form below

If you are looking at extending your lease either in Salisbury, or in fact anywhere in Wiltshire, you’ve come to the right place. Here at Salisbury and Amesbury Solicitors, Bonallack & Bishop, we have a 5 strong team who do nothing but lease extension and freehold purchase work – possibly the most specialist and largest team of its type in the country. And as you can see, this particular website is dedicated to lease extension alone.So you know, when you instruct us, that you’re getting real specialists. And that’s important, because most property solicitors only come across lease extensions from time to time – especially in rural areas like Wiltshire. and we can confidently say that there is no law firm anywhere in Wiltshire that comes anywhere near our specialist expertise in extending leases.

And over the last 25 years, we have helped something like 10,000 people extend their leases or by the freehold of their block.

When should I extend my lease?

Extending the lease on your property is usually best done sooner rather than later. The reason for this is that the cost of extending your lease is based on 2 main factors

1. the market value of your flat – so at a time when property rights prices are high or worse still, rising, any delay in extending your lease is going to lead to more costs

2. the remaining length of your lease term – once the lease drops below 85 years you should really consider extending it. In particular because the moment that lease drops below 80 years, the price you’re going to need to pay to extend your lease (known as the premium), goes up – because your freeholder is entitled to charge an additional payment – called marriage value
Click here to read more about lease extension marriage value

Why Bother Extending My Lease?

·         It’s easier to sell your flat when it has a long lease.

·         A lease loses value every day as it gets closer to the end of the lease, whatever the economy is doing.

·         The cost of extending the lease is partly based on the value of the flat at the time the leaseholder formally tells their landlord they are seeking an extension. This means the leaseholder is at an advantage if prices then start to increase again.

·         You have the legal right to extend your lease in most cases. Your legal right to extend your lease by 90 years is known as the formal statutory method – though it is also possible to negotiate informal or private lease extensions with your freeholder – though this type of voluntary agreement does come with risks.
Click here to read more about voluntary lease extensions

·         Prospective buyers will find it difficult to get a mortgage if the lease on your flat is less than 70 years.

·         If your lease has less than 80 years to run, it will get increasingly expensive to extend as it is then liable for something known as Marriage Value, which means you have to share any profit from the increase in value of your flat with your landlord.

Thinking of extending your lease? For legal advice you can trust, call us now

Although our specialist leasehold extension team is based in Salisbury not only do we regularly handle cases throughout Wiltshire, but our client base for this particular specialist service is nationwide.

And Although we always like to meet our clients, when it comes to lease extension work we don’t even need to see you – taking your instructions by e-mail, phone and Zoom video:

So if you’re thinking of extending your lease;

• Just call us on Salisbury (01722) 422300 for a FREE initial phone consultation and a FREE quote for your lease extension, OR
• Complete the email contact form below

Does a short lease matter?

Certain things in life are inevitable – death, taxes and the raw truth that day by day, your lease is getting shorter. But when you’re selling a flat, with a short lease, does the length of the lease term really matter?

Quite apart from the fact that if you don’t extend your lease then eventually it’s going to expire and you will no longer own that flat, ending up with a short lease has some problematic consequences. That’s just 1 of the reasons why, if you’re looking at selling a flat with a short lease, extending your lease is so important

Got a lease extension question? Call our specialist solicitors on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice – with no strings attached.

Selling a flat with a short lease – serious mortgage problems

Not least amongst the potential problems with a short lease is the fact that, increasingly, mortgage lenders are reluctant to lend on short leases. So, selling a flat with a short lease may prove difficult.

But don’t just take our word for it – at the bottom of the page you will see an extract from some recent figures on the Council of Mortgage Lenders website and the link to bang up-to-date information which shows that it’s become pretty difficult to obtain a mortgage on any residential property with a short lease.

And what do we mean by a short lease? There is no legal definition of a short lease and there is no doubt that in the last 10 years, mortgage companies have really moved the goalposts by requiring increasingly longer leases before they will consider a loan.

As you’ll see, many of the leading mortgage companies won’t even consider a mortgage on a lease with less than 70 years to run – so, and this is just a personal opinion, probably anything either below, or even approaching that crucial 70 year mark is a short lease and any property with that length of term remaining is going to be difficult to sell.

Selling a flat with a short lease – our expert advice

To make sure you get the best price for your property and to maximise the number of possible purchasers, you need to make sure either that;

1. you extend your lease well above the 70 year mark in advance of putting your property on the market OR

2. if you don’t have the cash to extend your lease extension, or you don’t want to wait for a leasehold extension to be completed,[and if you go down the safer formal route this could take up to six months or so] then you can start the process of lease extension yourself, by instructing a solicitor to issue the formal lease extension notice – and then transfer the right to extend the lease to the new purchaser. However, if you go down this second group, any sensible purchaser will look to reduce the price they going to pay you for your flat by the very least the likely cost of the lease extension, and probably a bit more on top.

NB although it’s not directly linked to selling your flat, please do be aware that the cost of lease extension goes up significantly when the remaining term of your lease dips just one single day below 80 years. So, regardless of whether you’re looking to sell your flat, if possible make sure you extend your lease well in advance of that 80 year period – we could end up paying thousands of pounds more for your lease extension. [Want to know why? Click here to find more about marriage value and your lease extension.]

How our specialist lease extension solicitors can help you.

Here at Bonallack & Bishop, our leasehold team have helped around 10,000 people like you with short lease problems – extending individual leases and helping other leaseholders to buy the freehold of their block.

With over 25 years experience our specialist 5 strong leasehold team is possibly the largest and most specialist team of its type in the country – and we handle up to 500 leasehold extension and enfranchisement cases every year for clients throughout England and Wales:

Now is the right time to extend your short lease

While a lease extension for your flat always makes good financial sense, now is a great time to extend your lease. Why?

The UK housing market has been quite buoyant for some time now, which industry experts think could last for a few years. That means that the price of property generally is likely to go up and that in turn means that the cost of extending your lease will increase. So why wait for the price to go up – extend your lease today.

What kind of conditions do mortgage companies insist on when lending on a lease extension?

This is another issue. Quite apart from the fact that an increasing number of lenders require increasingly long remaining lease terms, other lenders adding additional requirements. Here are just a couple of your case studies that we’ve dealt with recently

1.       Lender: Leeds Building Society      Existing Lease Term: 52 years

 The clients had owned the property since 1992 and jointly owned the freehold with the flat below since circa 2010. They hadn’t re-mortgaged for some years and when they applied to Leeds, one of the conditions was that the lease extension would take place first, or simultaneously with the re-mortgage.

2.       Lender: Coventry Building Society         Existing Lease Term: 69 years

The client had owned the property since 2001 and last re-mortgaged in 2006. She decided to pursue a statutory or formal lease extension claim in this case, but either way the lender required it to be extended for the re-mortgage.

In both of these cases the existing lease lengths were relatively low and of course many lenders have different requirements.

What minimum unexpired lease terms do mortgage lenders require?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook provides an up-to-date list of lending criteria for leasehold property for approximately 97% of  lenders in England and Wales– click here to view that list

And here is a summary of the lending criteria for some of the biggest lenders as at according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders as at 6/2/19

Extending your short lease – contact our specialists now

if you’re thinking about a UK lease extension, make sure you instruct a specialist solicitor to help you because the legal process involved is complex. Our lease extensions team concentrate on lease extension and enfranchisement only – so we have the specialist expertise you need. So, for FREE initial phone legal advice:

• Call our specialists now on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 or

• Send us an email via the contact form below.

SPECIALISTS IN EXTENDING LEASES

Bournemouth has one of the largest number of leasehold flats in the country – which is hardly surprising, given that it is one of the UK’s most beautiful seaside resorts [now with its own premiership football team in AFC Bournemouth!], Bournemouth is a popular place for people to want to live and According to the latest 10 year census in 2011, the town has a population of 183,491 . As a result, prices have been pushed higher in recent years, making it difficult for young families and couples looking to get onto the property ladder.

With renting not an ideal long-term solution, many people are turning to leasehold flats as a way of effectively owning their own property without the enormous costs associated with a freehold arrangement. After all, the market price of a freehold property is generally much more expensive than a leasehold deal, which still enables you to own your own home. Owning a leasehold flat does have their downsides, but in an area like Bournemouth they’re ideal for getting that first foot on the housing ladder

But if you own a long leasehold flat in Bournemouth, or indeed anywhere else, then at some stage, that lease will need to be extended, unless you want to lose the ownership of your property and become a renting tenant.

Want to know more about Lease Extension? Call our specialist solicitors on [01202] 834450 or free on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice – with no strings attached.

DO I NEED A BOURNEMOUTH LEASE EXTENSION SPECIALIST?

o Extending your lease can prove tricky– there are critical deadlines which can be easy to miss, and The legislation governing lease extensions is particularly hard to interpret

o It’s highly likely that your landlord will appoint their own specialist lease extension solicitor

o Sadly, many landlords simply don’t cooperate when it comes to extending your lease. They might simply try to turn down your request for lease extension or haggle unnecessarily over the price [watch out – this is a particular trick played by far too many landlords when your lease is approaching the critical 80 year term]. Whilst many are perfectly reasonable, if you’re stuck with an awkward landlord, a specialist solicitor can prove essential. They can negotiate a fair price for your lease extension – but if your landlord simply refused to cooperate, they will have the expertise to help you with an application to the First Tier Property Tribunal

o Your Bournemouth lease extension solicitor can help you gather all the necessary information for your, lease extension, help in appointing the right t surveyor value your lease extension, draft all the necessary legal documents and sort out all post-completion matters

IDENTIFYING YOUR LEASE EXTENSION SPECIALIST

Only a handful of law firms specialise in lease extension. Most property solicitors will, at most, only have handled the odd lease extension in their career – and in our experience, sadly they often don’t know what they’re doing.

Here at Bonallack & Bishop, we have all the leasehold extension expertise you need. We have a team of three dedicated  UK lease extension specialists with a history of helping thousands of to extend their lease over the last 25 years.

We are also members of ALEP- the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners, the only national organisation of specialist lease extension surveyors and solicitors.

But you don’t need to take our word for it – here is a testimonial from a Poole based surveyor who specialises in lease extensions.

“ I have worked alongside [Bonallack and Bishop] on numerous lease extensions and have been impressed by [their] efficiency, regular communication and knowledge of the subject.”

Stephen Higley, Smith Robinson Higley Ltd, Chartered Surveyors, Poole

MAKE SURE YOU EXTEND YOUR LEASE BEFORE THE TERM FLAT DROPS BELOW 80 YEARS

The bad news is, if you have  bought a flat with a short lease, or the lease is still relatively long but has just dipped below 80 years, you’re going to have to pay the freeholder more to extend it. Why?

That’s very simple.

As soon as any lease dips below 80 years – even by just one day, the landlord is entitled to charge you an additional premium for extending your lease – and this premium is known as the “marriage value”.

So, if your lease has just over 80 years to run, don’t mess around – get your lease extension as soon as possible. Even if you can’t afford a full 90-year extension, it’s very worth getting a short extension – to keep your options open, and to keep your lease above the magic 80 year figure.

Remember – however many years your lease has to run, extending the term of that lease is going to cost you more, the longer you leave it

NOT JUST EXTENDING LEASES

Our specialist Leasehold team represent leaseholders, freeholders, property management companies, landlords and residents associations, providing jargon-free legal services and practical legal advice.and we don’t just extend leases – we also deal with the following specialist leasehold work:

• Claims for Collective Enfranchisement (also known as Freehold or Leasehold Enfranchisement)
• Forming a right to manage company
• License to alters
• New leases
• Leasehold disputes – including ground rent and service charge arrears

THINKING OF A LEASE EXTENSION BOURNEMOUTH? CALL 01202 834450 TODAY

We run most of our leasehold extensions cases without needing to see you – taking by e-mail, phone and video call – though we are equally happy if you want to come into the office to see us.

We can give you a quote for your lease extension and answer your initial queries by email – or we can arrange to ring you back at a time convenient to you, if you prefer.

So for FREE initial phone advice about your lease extension, get in touch with our team by

• Complete the email contact form below,
• Or call us now on [01202] 834450 or free  on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544

2017 sees a change of name for the highly specialist lease extension team here at Bonallack and Bishop.

In future the team will be known as “The Leasehold Property Team”.

Why? That’s simple.

It certainly doesn’t mean that we are any less committed to lease extension work or any less specialist in it.

On the contrary – in the most recent half year took our expert lawyers took on 180 individual lease extensions, for both large freeholders, small freeholders and numerous individual leaseholders. In fact we are looking to increase the number of flat and house leases we extend every year to at least 400. That makes us one of the most specialist leasehold extension teams in England and Wales – out of a total of over 10,000 law firms nationwide.

No, the reason why we are changing the name is that increasingly we do so much more leasehold law work in addition to lease extension. Not only do we complete numerous collective enfranchisement projects (that’s buying the freehold of your block together with some of your follow leaseholders), but our expert team carry out numerous title splits as well as a whole host of other leasehold law work including service charge and ground rent disputes, lease variation, forfeiture and licence for alterations.

And what’s more our leasehold work is growing. The team is already four strong and we are looking to recruit a fifth member of the team this March.

FOR SPECIALIST LEASEHOLD LAW ADVICE – CALL US TODAY

When it comes to all aspects of the  law surrounding leases, our specialists can help you wherever you live in England and Wales. We don’t even need to see you face-to-face – like many of our other clients, we can take this your instructions by e-mail, phone and Skype video:

• Just call us on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for a FREE initial phone consultation  OR

• Complete the email contact form below

More than 280,000 people call the city of Newcastle home, and if you own a flat in the city, your lease will need to be extended one day. What’s more, did you know that you have the legal right to force your freeholder to extend the term of your lease – by up to an additional 90 years?

Newcastle is the most populous city in the north-east of England, with a booming cultural centre and enormous regeneration having been carried out in the city since its decline from an industrial heartland in the 1970s. As a result, Newcastle and the surrounding area has a large number of leasehold flats as well as some leasehold houses. And the average price of flats in the city in 2016 was £136,778, according to Right Move.

Thinking about extending your lease? Got a legal question? Call our specialist team now on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice.

The problems with short leases

The problem with owning any flat or apartment owned under a long lease [i.e. the lease was originally granted for at least 21 years] is that the term of that lease will gradually decline. The shorter the lease the less the property is worth and the harder it is to sell or mortgage.

If your flat or apartment has 85 years or less to run, we strongly suggest you look at extending your lease as soon as possible..

WHY EXTEND MY LEASE NOW?

Your lease can be extended at any time but delaying your lease extension can cause problems later and could turn out to be a lot more expensive than you planned. So why extend your lease now?

• The cost of extend your lease is rising, day by day

In the current economic climate, there are two reasons why putting off your leasehold  extension is only costing you more money. Firstly, as your lease gradually gets shorter, it’s getting gradually more expensive, day by day, to extend it. Worse still, with house prices currently rising, that means the value of your property is rising – and one of the factors in assessing the premium for your residential lease extension is the value of your property. So, the more your flat is worth, the more you have to pay to extend your lease.

In fact, specialist lease extension surveyors in London recently estimated that the cost of extending a lease, in London at least, is going up by whacking 12% each and every year – if that continues, that means that the cost any flat owner will have to have to pay to extend their lease could double in under seven years!

• Extending your lease takes time

Whilst coming to an informal lease extension agreement with your freeholder can sometimes be sorted out relatively quickly – you have no control over the process, and there are some real risks with this voluntary route get a lease extension. The alternative, and the only way to make sure you have control and can ensure you gain that lease extension, is through the formal, or statutory, route. The problem with this. Formal route is that there are certain inbuilt notice periods and as result, it usually takes around six months for your lease extension to be completed. If you’re not thinking of selling up, then it’s not so much of a problem. But if you do come to sell, and have found the new home of your dreams, and then find that you can’t extend your lease in under six months, the whole chain could collapse.

• Extending your lease makes your flat easier to sell

Flats with long lease terms are much easier to sell – purchasers prefer them – and they attract higher prices.

What’s more, mortgage lenders seem to be increasingly reluctant to lend on any property with a short lease –although 20 years ago it was possible to get a mortgage on a flat with say 50 years left, many lenders now refuse to lend, if the term is below 70 or even 80 years. So even if your flat was built fairly recently, say in 1970 with a original 99 year lease, any prospective buyer will find it nearly impossible to get a mortgage to fund the purchase.

DO I REALLY NEED A SPECIALIST SOLICITOR FOR MY LEASE EXTENSION?

You might think that it’s really easy to extend your own lease. After all, you only need to ask your freeholder, right? In fact, many freeholders will refuse to cooperate or will drag out negotiations to the point where they hope leaseholders will simply give in. For example, when the remaining term of a lease is approaching the 80 year point, it’s not unusual for unscrupulous freeholders to go slow with the clear aim of letting the lease drop below the 80-year mark – when they can charge you an additional premium to extend your lease – which will cost you thousands of pounds.

Although it involves a complex area of law, extending a lease doesn’t need to be a nightmare if you instruct a specialist solicitor – to help you through what can be tricky legal process which requires patience, experience and expertise.

By appointing one of our team as your solicitor, you can rest assured that your lease extension is being dealt with by a genuine specialist. They don’t dabble – extending leases is all they do.

TO SUM UP – OUR ADVICE

In short, our advice is simple – don’t delay – extend your lease now.

YOUR NEWCASTLE LEASE EXTENSION – HOW WE CAN HELP

With over 25 years experience in many thousands of lease extensions for leaseholders and freeholders alike, we have the expertise to make sure your lease extension goes smoothly;

• We offer FREE initial telephone advice – just call us on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544

• We work with the only Newcastle-based surveyor who really understands how to value your lease – like solicitors, lease extension surveyors need to be specialists. Very few surveyors are able to value the premium required for lease extension accurately. We are happy to instruct him on your behalf to value your lease extension – as part of our one-stop shop service

• We manage your lease extension timetable

• We draft all the legal documents and notices

• If there is a dispute regarding your lease extension, we can take the matter to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal [ recently re-titled the ”First-tier tribunal – Property Chamber (Residential Property)] – but only if it’s strictly necessary, which thankfully it very rarely is.

1 KEY QUESTION

If you’re still not sure whether you need our specialist team – maybe you have a long-standing Newcastle-based solicitor you really like – just ask them once in question. “How many lease extensions have a completed the last year?”

THINKING OF A LEASE EXTENSION IN NEWCASTLE? CALL OUR SPECIALISTS NOW

Over the last 25 years, our solicitors have been involved in many thousands of lease extensions – for clients throughout England and Wales. For most all of our lease extension work, we deal with clients solely through telephone, email or Skype.

And don’t forget – initial phone advice from experts is FREE – so what have you got to lose?

• Simply, call our team now on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 or,

• Fill out the email contact form below

Sheffield , once a comparatively run-down former mining area and heavy industrial hub, has boomed in recent years to become a metropolitan hub of culture, industry and total regeneration.

This former steel city has seen its gross value added (GVA) grow by 60% since 1997, adding £9.2 billion into the British economy just ten years later in 2007. Its economy is growing at a rate of 5% a year, which is more than the whole of the Yorkshire and Humber region. It’s easy to see, then, why so many people are flocking to live in Sheffield.

With freehold properties being at a premium due to the successful regeneration, many people are opting to buy a leasehold flat.

If you own the leasehold on a flat, the chances are that you need to renew your lease or will need to do so soon. If you live in Sheffield and are looking to start the lease extension process, our dedicated team of experts would be happy to help.

Thinking about extending your lease? Got a question? Call our expert lawyers on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE initial phone advice – with no strings attached.

LEASE EXTENSION – THE IMPORTANCE OF INSTRUCTING AN EXPERT

The importance of instructing a specialist lease extension solicitor to manage the lease extension process is often underestimated. Some of the reasons for instructing an expert are listed below:

• Experts will understand the complicated legal terminology involved in lease extensions and the importance of meeting the strict deadlines involved

• Your landlord is likely to instruct their own specialist solicitor so you owe it to yourself to get one as well

• Our expert solicitors have the negotiating skills you need, and a panel of specialist local surveyors, which you are going to need for a proper valuation of the premium to be paid to your freeholder

• If your landlord attempts to stall negotiations so that the extension costs you more, an expert solicitor will be able to help you apply to  the First-Tier Property Tribunal (previously known as Leasehold Valuation Tribunal).

WHY WE’RE THE RIGHT CHOICE

Finding genuine leasehold extension specialists is very difficult. Many solicitors believe that they have the expertise needed to do residential lease extension work only realising how difficult it is when it’s too late. And we are members of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners. So for lease extension solicitors you can trust, call our experts.

FOR YOUR LEASE EXTENSION IN SHEFFIELD – GET IN TOUCH WITH US TODAY

When it comes to extending your lease, our expert team can help you wherever your flat is in England and Wales and we don’t even need to see you – taking your instructions by e-mail, phone and Skype video:

• Just call us on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for a FREE initial phone consultation and a FREE quote for your lease extension, OR

• Complete the email contact form below