I have recently realised that I have Seventy years remaining on my lease in Caversham. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Caversham.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Caversham.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Caversham. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, 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 ensure 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).

All being well we will complete the sale of our £325000 garden flat in Caversham next Thursday . The management company has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Caversham?

Caversham conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

What makes a Caversham lease problematic?

Leasehold conveyancing in Caversham is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Bank of Scotland, and Britannia 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 purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Caversham - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

It would be sensible to discover as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they will either make life much easier or problematic. As the owner of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to daily issues like the cleanliness of the common parts. Ask other tenants what they think of them. Finally, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the relevant party and precisely what it includes. How is the lease structured? Be sure to discover if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance some leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Caversham. If you love the flatin Caversham however your dog is not allowed to move with you then you have a very difficult decision.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Caversham