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Recently asked questions relating to Barrowden leasehold conveyancing

There are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Barrowden. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Barrowden.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Barrowden. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Barrowden should include some of the following:

  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but might include a loft or cellar if applicable.
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Barrowden please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Barrowden

    • I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Barrowden. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

    Most houses in Barrowden are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Barrowden so you should seriously consider looking for a Barrowden conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

    I am attracted to a two apartments in Barrowden both have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

    There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Barrowden 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 value of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 premises 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 Barrowden 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 the agreed 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.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Barrowden with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Barrowden can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Some Barrowden leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Barrowden conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Barrowden - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

      The majority of Barrowden leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building set by the freeholder. If you acquire the property you will have to meet this liability, normally periodically accross the year. This can vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to check it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. Where a Barrowden lease has fewer than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have owned the residence for a couple of years before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension. Its a good idea to find out as much as possible concerning the company managing the block as they will either make your living at the property much simpler or a lot more difficult. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day matters like the cleanliness of the communal areas. Ask prospective neighbours what they think of them. On a final note, be sure you know the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and specifically how they are spending the funds.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Barrowden