I have recently realised that I have 72 years unexpired on my lease in Crook. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. 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 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. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. On the whole a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder 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 overseeing Crook.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Crook.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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 managing agents 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Crook. 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 owner 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).

Completion in due on our sale of a £325000 apartment in Crook in 10 days. The management company has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Crook?

For most leasehold sales in Crook conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Crook
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Crook leasehold property is £350. For Crook conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

What makes a Crook lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Crook is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• 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. Barclays , Virgin Money, and Clydesdale 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 is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Crook Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

It would be wise to discover as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they will either make your living at the property much easier or problematic. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues such as the cleanliness of the common parts. Enquire of other people what they think of them. In conclusion, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending the funds. You should be aware if it is fewer than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for two years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension. The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the leaseholders enjoy being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Crook