-
Yeah I was gonna begin proceedings in the new year, figuring it'd take up to 6 months.
What I don't want to do is sort it all out too early and sit for too long paying the extra ££ (assuming the cost can be added to my mortgage) because I will want to sell before the end of next year.Did you open communications yourself or instruct solicitors from the outset?
rpm-
I did it myself first as I was within the two years and wanted to try the informal route first. I knew the solicitors as they are who the ground rent goes to. I got lucky and got an offer with agreeable terms (same as the existing lease and we don't have a service charge anyway).
There's no harm in asking first as even if you do go the statutory route, they cannot refuse or give you a bum deal. Also, with statutory, the clock on the lease stops as soon as the s.42 is issued to prevent them deliberately delaying it to run into the next year and bumping up the premium.
I did some research first so when I spoke to the Freeholders' solicitor it sounded like I knew what I was doing and agreed with them that if they didn't come back with a favourable informal offer, I would be going statutory which would be more of a pain for everyone.
stevo_com
Just finished sorting ours (everything signed and paid for, just takes an extra six months for the land registry to return the paperwork).
The online calculators are fairly accurate and it will depend on whether or not you go the statutory or informal route how much it costs (the latter removing some legal fees and duplicate valuations - but doesn't always remove the ground rent).
If you are not in a rush, contact the freeholders solicitors and tell them you would like to extend and ask for a quote. If you like the quote, instruct your own solicitor and crack on. If not, instruct your solicitor to issue a Section 42 lease extension notice (which you are entitled and protected to do by law if you have owned for more than two years) and fasten your seatbelt.
I was told that as a rule if thumb, lenders will discriminate against anything below 75 years (as at the end of the 25 year mortgage term is will be 50 which means it would be a fortune to extend). In reality, I wouldn't consider buying anything at 82 years or lower as the cost to extend becomes exponentially greater below 80 (remember you need to have owned for 2 years for statutory extension) as you then add the "marriage value" to the premium and legal fees.