Hi, I'm just starting to look into my lease extention. I bought a 1-bed place in in May 2006 (c. £165K) with a lease expiring in September 2085 (so just over 72 years left).
As per the terms of the lease, the outstanding rent due on the place until 2085 is short of £38,500 (£169 pa currently, this figure goes up by around 30% every 10 years until the end of the lease, ie from £169 today to £1,065 pa for the last 9+ years!). Does a 30% rise every 10 years seem unreasonable to you too and, if so, is there a possible course of action, even though this stone was left unturned when I bought the place (and possibly also before - I have no records of it)?
I'm not looking to sell the flat now, but at the same time I hope that I will have upgraded/sold in the next 10 years (if not earlier). With that in mind, I want to address the lease situation now, particularly as property prices are (maybe) not quite so high for valuation purposes.
So, looking at my options, does an extention back to 99 years seem a reasonable (and cheaper!) one rather than a 90 years extention? In your opinion, what would be the cost of each (I don't have that much savings and I'm not currently working! :=(: ), and what should be my course of action to prepare to approach the landlord? Do I need to get a valuation and a solicitor? Finally, do you see any "bargaining power" in the fact the landlord is currently gathering quotes for work to be done on the outside of the building (which they say I'll have to cover 25% of the cost)?
Thanks very much in advance for your help, advice and feedback - much appreciated! Please also feel free to post your comments if you've been in a similar situation and you can help.
THANK YOU!
As per the terms of the lease, the outstanding rent due on the place until 2085 is short of £38,500 (£169 pa currently, this figure goes up by around 30% every 10 years until the end of the lease, ie from £169 today to £1,065 pa for the last 9+ years!). Does a 30% rise every 10 years seem unreasonable to you too and, if so, is there a possible course of action, even though this stone was left unturned when I bought the place (and possibly also before - I have no records of it)?
I'm not looking to sell the flat now, but at the same time I hope that I will have upgraded/sold in the next 10 years (if not earlier). With that in mind, I want to address the lease situation now, particularly as property prices are (maybe) not quite so high for valuation purposes.
So, looking at my options, does an extention back to 99 years seem a reasonable (and cheaper!) one rather than a 90 years extention? In your opinion, what would be the cost of each (I don't have that much savings and I'm not currently working! :=(: ), and what should be my course of action to prepare to approach the landlord? Do I need to get a valuation and a solicitor? Finally, do you see any "bargaining power" in the fact the landlord is currently gathering quotes for work to be done on the outside of the building (which they say I'll have to cover 25% of the cost)?
Thanks very much in advance for your help, advice and feedback - much appreciated! Please also feel free to post your comments if you've been in a similar situation and you can help.
THANK YOU!