Recently asked questions relating to Crosby leasehold conveyancing
I only have Sixty One years left on my flat in Crosby. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. 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 an order 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 have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Crosby.
Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold flat in Crosby. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Crosby who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?
The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Crosby conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Crosby both have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There are plenty of short leases in Crosby. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Crosby where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Crosby conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as 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. This means that the buyer 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.
All being well we will complete the sale of our £125000 maisonette in Crosby on Friday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Crosby?
Crosby conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions most will be content to assist. They may levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.
I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Crosby, conveyancing formalities finalised 2004. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Crosby with a long lease are worth £193,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2101
With only 76 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £10,500 and £12,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
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