I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Bollington. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Bollington.

I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Bollington. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Bollington are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Bollington in which case you should be looking for a Bollington conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Bollington. Conveyancing and Birmingham Midshires mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Bollington who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Bollington conveyancing practitioner 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 rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Bollington. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

I work for a busy estate agency in Bollington where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Bollington conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Bollington Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

The best form of lease structure is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the leaseholders benefit from control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often retained where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. The answer will be useful as a) areas can cause problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to know about it Where a Bollington lease has fewer than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the flat. 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 require a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have been the owner of the residence for two years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bollington