There are only 68 years unexpired on my lease in Beckermet. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that 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 Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Beckermet.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Beckermet. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Beckermet should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the block.For example, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or hallways?

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

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

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Beckermet please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Beckermet

I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Beckermet.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £250000 garden flat in Beckermet in 5 days. The managing agents has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Beckermet?

For most leasehold sales in Beckermet conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Beckermet
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Beckermet leasehold premises is £350. For Beckermet conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide answers.

What makes a Beckermet lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Beckermet. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• 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.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Virgin Money, and Aldermore all have very detailed 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 buyer to pull out.

Beckermet Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How many years are left on the lease? What is the name of the managing agents? The best form of lease structure is where the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the tenants have control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Beckermet