There are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Bingley. I need to get lease extension 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Bingley.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Bingley. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Defining your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the block.For instance, does the lease grant a right of way over a path or hallways?

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Bingley both have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Bingley 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 marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under 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 Bingley conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bingley from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bingley can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Bingley state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.

What are the common defects that you see in leases for Bingley properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Bingley is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• 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

You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Coventry Building Society, 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 does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Bingley Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Many Bingley leasehold properties will have a service bill for maintenance of the block levied by the landlord. If you acquire the flat you will have to pay this liability, normally periodically during the year. This may vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, normally this is not a significant amount, say around £25-£75 but you should to check as sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. Who is in charge of the block? In the main the outlay for major works are not included within maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Bingley require leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bingley