There are only Seventy years left on my flat in Didsbury. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Didsbury.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Didsbury. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Didsbury ?

Most houses in Didsbury are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Didsbury so you should seriously consider looking for a Didsbury conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Didsbury. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Didsbury who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Didsbury conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Didsbury both have about forty five years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Didsbury. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Didsbury. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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).

Didsbury Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

You should be aware that where the lease has less than 80 years it will impact the marketability of the flat. Check with your lender that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Didsburylease extensions you will need to own the premises for a couple of years in order to be eligible to exercise a lease extension. The answer will be useful as a) areas can result in problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have full disclosure What is the yearly maintenance fee and ground rent?

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Lease Extensions in Didsbury