Extending the Lease on My Flat, Do I Need a Professional

If you have lived in your flat for over 2 years on a long lease (such as those given for 99 year terms) you may qualify for the statutory right to extend your lease. This is a good opportunity especially if the remaining term on your lease has reduced to around 75 years.

The reason the leasehold is in need of extension is to keep the flat alive and up in the top rankings of the market. You now know what will happen if you do not extend that lease: when you do decide that you want to sell, finding a buyer will prove difficult. People who are thinking about purchasing will be put off. In today's uncertain climate, most high street lenders are tightening lending criteria and are likely to be reluctant to make a loan offer on a flat with a shorter lease. So extend the lease now!

Potential buyers are primarily concerned about how long is left on the lease and whether or not the block of flats are well looked after. So, let the lease continue to drop and you are likely to have to settle for less than the real value. It will be very frustrating for you to discover that a potential buyer is willing to pay extra than is the real value for another flat; especially when it is a flat further down the road, with a longer lease.

So, having made the crucial decision to extend a lease, where do you now stand?

You have to reach an agreement with your landlord on the price of a lease extension. Usually this will entail getting a formal valuation, carried out by a qualified surveyor. It is a good idea to speak with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Ask your surveyor to provide you with a realistic valuation, and then ask him to give you the highest and lowest potential price for the leasehold extension. He will also give valuable advice on how much you should then offer the freeholder.

Almost certainly the freeholder will demand a higher value on the extension; that is quite usual when seeking to extend your lease.

This is where things could become difficult. Your next step is to negotiate an agreement. If you encounter problems at this stage, the help of your two professionals will prove invaluable. The report from the chartered surveyor will greatly enhance your negotiating power in the case of continued disagreement. It will provide you with evidence should you be required to go forward to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. As well as this try to retain another professional, a solicitor, this person should be a specialist in leasehold extensions.

If conflict does occur then these chosen people representing you will help you address issues in a calm and impartial way, this support should help reduce stress.