I have recently realised that I have Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Danescourt. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

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 for permission 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 used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Danescourt.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Danescourt both have approximately 50 years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Danescourt. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Danescourt. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. 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 choosing a Danescourt conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Danescourt conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Danescourt conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

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

What makes a Danescourt lease unmortgageable?

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

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Skipton Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Danescourt Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying

If a Danescourt lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering how much this will be. For most Danescourtlease extensions you would be be obliged to have been the owner of the residence for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease. What is the annual service fee and ground rent? Can you tell me if there are any major works anticipated that will increase the maintenance costs?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Danescourt