Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years remaining on my lease in Crickhowell. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order 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 used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Crickhowell.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Crickhowell. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Crickhowell should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Crickhowell where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Crickhowell conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Crickhowell conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Crickhowell conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Crickhowell conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Are there common deficiencies that you see in leases for Crickhowell properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Crickhowell. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• 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 may have 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. Yorkshire Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Crickhowell Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Is there a share of the freehold? You should be aware that where the lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are happy with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will probably need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Crickhowelllease extensions you would be required to have owned the property for 24 months before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension. The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees have control and although a managing agent is often employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Crickhowell