Answer: The first thing to know is that a Lease Extension Valuation uses a complicated formula and many variables (including the value of money in the future) to arrive at the premium you will pay. There are some ‘calculators’ available online which claim to provide a figure based on your remaining lease length, estimated property value and current ground rent; in reality, these are nearly always inaccurate as they do not take into account rises in your ground rent or recent court decisions as well as relying on a possibly imprecise value of your property. The most reliable way to determine the likely premium for extending your lease is to have a professional valuation done; this will provide you with all of the information you will need to make a decision on how to proceed at a fraction of the potential cost of engaging solicitors to start the process and without the risk of approaching your Freeholder informally, which normally results in an offer heavily weighted in their favour.
Please contact Lewis Emms at our office, who is a Chartered Surveyor specialising in Lease Enfranchisement work as well as an RICS Registered Valuer.