Transcript
So how much will it cost? Well, that's the ten million dollar question! Hopefully not that much. The premiums do vary quite significantly, we have a ballpark calculator which you can use free of charge on our home page. This is to give you a rough figure based on the information that you input, but it's not just the premium that you need to be aware of, you will have to pay for your own valuation and legal fees too. You will also have to pay a fair and reasonable proportion of the freeholders valuers and lawyers – If you've been asked to pay for these upfront, you will not be paying for your own representative, the fees are usually purely for the freeholder. I recommend that you should instruct your own valuers first, freeholder costs do vary when we are instructed to negotiate for you. We keep a close eye on all of the costs associated with the process, it's not just the premium you need to be aware of, it is important to only pay a fair and reasonable fee for the freeholders costs. If you're considering selling your property, you do need to move quickly, a freeholder can use delaying tactics to frustrate you, the longer they take, the more you'll be tempted to giving in to their demands.
A good way to reduce costs is to get started sooner rather than later, the longer you wait, the shorter your lease becomes, the more chance there is the property market is going to keep on increasing, and you'll end up paying a much higher premium. Freeholders don't want you to extend your lease, they want you to wait as long as you can so that you have to pay them more.
