A specialist valuation from a Lease Extension Surveyor

If you are considering a lease extension then get in touch with our experienced team who can give you the professional help you need to successfully extend your lease. As a lease extension valuation is complex, one of the first things we will do is put you in contact with the right surveyor specialising in lease extension valuations from our list of nationwide contacts – a surveyor who can provide you with the expert valuation you need.

Thinking of extending your lease? Looking for a Specialist Lease Extension Surveyor near to you? Call us on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for an introduction to an expert surveyor on our specialist panel

Why you need the right surveyor

Most surveyors rarely come across a lease extension valuation. Few high street surveyors really understand how lease extensions really work, let alone are they able to give you a proper valuation. This is why it’s crucial to find the right surveyor to provide your valuation – you want to offer just enough, but not too much, for the lease extension process to go ahead.

The surveyor you need will:

• Provide a specialist leasehold extension valuation report on a reasonable price for your lease extension;
• Negotiate on your behalf with the freeholder and the freeholder’s surveyors;
• Communicate with your solicitors regarding that lease extension valuation; and
• Provide you with expert advice both in writing and in person if your case ends up at the First Tier Property Tribunal (peviously known as the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal or LVT).

Getting your lease extension valuation wrong – the consequences

The main reason for needing a surveyor who specialises in leasehold extensions is that even at the stage of the initial letter to the freeholder to start off the process, the leaseholder needs to state a premium for the freeholder which is realistic.

If the leaseholder gets it wrong and suggest a premium which is unrealistic, the notice will be invalid, which means that you have to start the process all over again – that will involve delay and extra costs for you.

It’s therefore very important to make sure that the premium is calculated accurately, and this requires your valuation surveyor to have both in-depth experience and the expert knowledge needed to work with leasehold extensions.

Keep control of leasehold extension costs –  by working with specialists

When your freeholder receives the your original application for a lease extension, they then respond to it with a counter notice.

When it comes to the premium, if the landlord doesn’t accept your offer, then your surveyor gets involved in your response, assisting in detailed discussions and negotiations of the premium valuation.

The key role of the surveyor during this part of the process is to make sure that their client is not paying more than they should to extend their lease.

The job of the solicitor is to make sure that the correct legal process is followed, and that any proposed changes to the terms of the lease are done properly.

Lease Extension Valuations – don’t cut corners!

It’s a commonly made mistake to try to save a bit of cash by not bothering with a proper valuation which is competed by a specialist lease extension surveyor. If you allow your freeholder to decide on the value of extending the lease, or allow them to instruct the surveyor, it’s unlikely to be to your advantage.

Don’t rely either on what is known in the trade as a “desktop valuation” – one where the valuation is completed based on documents and paperwork rather than the surveyor going out and viewing the property in person. Yes, desktop valuations are quicker and cheaper, but they don’t take into account the individual circumstances affecting your flat and could end up making a huge difference to the final price you pay for extending your lease.

Finding the right specialist surveyor

Our specialist leasehold extension team have helped thousands of leaseholder and freeholders to extend their leases over the last quarter of a century. Over that time we have established a great network of specialist leasehold extension surveyors across England and Wales.

Wherever in England or Wales your property is located, we can help you with the legalities of extending your lease, and help you find a surveyor who really knows their stuff for leasehold extensions as part of our one-stop shop.

Qualifications?

In the UK, the vast majority of lease extension valuation work is done by Chartered Surveyor. To qualify as a Chartered Surveyor, you have to go through many years of professional training and exams, and be approved for membership of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Experience and reputation is just as important as paper qualifications though. Your surveyor must be able to produce a lease extension valuation of a high quality, and robust enough to stand up to scrutiny from your freeholder’s legal team and their surveyor. The valuation document is the foundation stone for a fair and trustworthy basis to start off the lease extension valuation.

And because we’ve helped so many people extend their leases over the years, we have built a network of reliable specialist surveyors nationwide who we trust to provide the right lease extension valuation. And we are more than happy to introduce you to one of them working in your part of the country, or alternatively to instruct them on your behalf as part of our one-stop shop service.

What is marriage value?

Once the remaining lease term drops below 80 years, the cost of your lease extension increases sharply as the “marriage value” kicks in. And as a result, some mortgage lenders refuse mortgages on flats with leases less than 80 years as well.

“Marriage value” is a share of a notional increase in value on a property with an extended lease, that’s paid as a 50% premium to the landlord. This can significantly increase the cost of an extension, so it’s something that you need to avoid wherever possible. The good news is that the “marriage value” doesn’t apply if there’s more than 80 years left to run on the original term of the lease.

But beware, there is no leeway. So the day your lease dips under 80 years, marriage value applies and for most flats that means you will have to fork out thousands of pounds more to extend your lease.

What happens if my lease is rapidly approaching that 80 year point?

You have 2 options if you want to extend your lease on your flat. The informal and formal routes.

And if you’re lease is little over 80 years, the informal route is very, very dangerous indeed. That’s because with an informal lease extension, your lease keeps getting shorter and you can’t compel your freeholder to extend your lease. And sadly we are aware of unscrupulous freeholders who will happily agree to an informal lease extension in the circumstances but will drag their feet and then the day lease drops below 80 years, they withdraw any agreement – forcing you to use the formal route and having to pay marriage value.

But in contrast, using the formal route means that the day your section 42 application for lease extension goes in, the term of your lease freezes i.e. it stops getting shorter. So provided you get statutory lease extension application in even as late as the day below your lease drops below 80 years, you are safe, because the lease stays at that level until your lease extension has been completed and you don’t have to pay marriage value.

Need a Lease Extension Valuation? Contact us first

For FREE initial advice about picking the right surveyor for your Lease Extension Valuation, contact our specialists  today:

• call us free on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 or
• email us using the contact form below