A lease is granted for a term of years. If there are 80 years or less on it, mortgage lenders are often reluctant to lend on the property. On that basis it is best to apply and extend the term of the lease. The owner is able to apply if the property has been owned for more than two years.
There will be costs involved including paying a premium for the lease to be extended, the freeholder’s legal costs, survey costs and our legal fees. If the freeholder does not agree to extend the lease there are procedures to follow to obtain this and we can advise you about these.
The cost of a lease extension could be thousand pounds. So it’s important that before buying a leasehold property the length of the lease is considered and the costs involved.
There is also useful information at Lease Advice and Leasehold Advice Centre
