Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years left on my flat in Allendale. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Allendale.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Allendale. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Allendale who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Allendale conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Allendale which have about fifty years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Allendale is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Allendale conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Allendale. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

What makes a Allendale lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Allendale is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Coventry Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Allendale - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Make sure you find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example it is very common in Allendale leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Allendale. If you like the propertyin Allendale yet your cat can’t make the move with you then you will be faced hard choice. Many Allendale leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for maintenance of the building levied on behalf of the management company. Where you purchase the flat you will have to pay this amount, normally in instalments accross the year. This could vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a significant amount, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. The answer will be important as a) areas can result in problems in the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to have complete disclosure

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Lease Extensions in Allendale