Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Chipping Sodbury. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Chipping Sodbury.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Chipping Sodbury.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Chipping Sodbury. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Chipping Sodbury are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Chipping Sodbury in which case you should be looking for a Chipping Sodbury conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Chipping Sodbury. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Chipping Sodbury who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Chipping Sodbury conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Chipping Sodbury. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. A critical element 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).

Leasehold Conveyancing in Chipping Sodbury - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

The best form of lease structure is if 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 if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? You should be aware that where the lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are content with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Chipping Sodburylease extensions you would need to own the residence for 24 months in order to be legally able to carry out a lease extension.

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Lease Extensions in Chipping Sodbury