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Recently asked questions relating to Darwen leasehold conveyancing

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my flat in Darwen. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

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 magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Darwen.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Darwen. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • The physical extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but might incorporate a loft or cellar if applicable.
  • Defining your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the block.For example, does the lease contain a right of way over a path or staircase?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Darwen please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Darwen

    • Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Darwen.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

    It best that you pay the invoice 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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 property in Darwen. Am I liable to pay 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 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).

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Darwen from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Darwen can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Darwen charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Darwen.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Darwen state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.
  • A minority of Darwen leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

    • Darwen Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      This question is important as a) areas can result in problems for the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to know about it Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the tenants? How many years remain on the lease?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Darwen