There are only 62 years remaining on my lease in Caerwys. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

If 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Caerwys.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold house in Caerwys. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland 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 Caerwys who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Caerwys conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website 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.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Caerwys which have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a busy estate agency in Caerwys where we see a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Caerwys conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

What makes a Caerwys lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Caerwys. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Virgin Money, and Clydesdale 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, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Caerwys Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying

On the whole the outlay for major works are not built into the service charges, although there some managing agents in Caerwys ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Is the freehold owned collectively by the leaseholders?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Caerwys