There are only Fifty years left on my lease in Chorley. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Chorley.

I have just started marketing my garden flat in Chorley.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear 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 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 2003, I bought a leasehold flat in Chorley. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society 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 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Chorley who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Chorley conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note 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.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £ 350000 garden flat in Chorley on Thursday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Chorley?

Chorley conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually requires the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Chorley what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Chorley. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Coventry Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society 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 provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Chorley Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

The best form of lease structure is where the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees have being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often employed where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. The answer will be helpful as a) areas could cause problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will want to know about it Is the freehold owned collectively by the tenants?