Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Chesterton
I only have Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Chesterton. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?
On the basis that 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. On the whole a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Chesterton.
Planning to complete next month on a basement flat in Chesterton. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Chesterton should include some of the following:
- Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Chesterton.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold house in Chesterton. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Chesterton who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Chesterton conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I am looking at a two apartments in Chesterton both have about 50 years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Chesterton 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 premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 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 a residence 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 Chesterton conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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.
I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Chesterton, conveyancing having been completed in 2005. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Chesterton with an extended lease are worth £265,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease terminates on 21st October 2088
With just 63 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.
Other Topics