I have recently realised that I have Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Cottenham Park. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Cottenham Park.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Cottenham Park which have approximately forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Cottenham Park is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive 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 property 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 Cottenham Park 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 any new 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've recently bought a leasehold house in Cottenham Park. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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 be sure 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Cottenham Park conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Cottenham Park conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Cottenham Park conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Cottenham Park who can give a testimonial?

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Cottenham Park what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Cottenham Park is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations 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

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Cottenham Park Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

Most Cottenham Park leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block levied by the freeholder. Where you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this amount, normally periodically throughout the year. This may be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, normally this is not a large amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to check as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. You should want to find out as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day issues such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Don't be shy to ask other people whether they are happy with them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and specifically what you get for your money. How much is the ground rent and service charge?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cottenham Park