Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Barry Island. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Barry Island.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Barry Island. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold flat in Barry Island. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Barry Island who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Barry Island conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Barry Island both have in the region of fifty years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Barry Island is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 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 premises 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 Barry Island 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.

What makes a Barry Island lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Barry Island. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Barry Island Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

If a Barry Island lease has less than 80 years it will impact the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are content with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Barry Islandlease extensions you would need to own the residence for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease. Make sure you enquire if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Barry Island leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Barry Island. If you love the flatin Barry Island however your dog can’t make the move with you then you will be faced difficult decision. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Barry Island