I have recently realised that I have Fifty years left on my flat in Doncaster. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Doncaster.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Doncaster.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly 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 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 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Doncaster. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Doncaster who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Doncaster conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Doncaster both have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Doncaster is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Doncaster conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a busy estate agency in Doncaster where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Doncaster conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Doncaster Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

How much is the ground rent and service charge? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Its a good idea to discover as much as possible about the managing agents as they will either make living at the property much easier or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day issues like the tidiness of the common parts. Ask other tenants whether they are happy with their management. In conclusion, be sure you know the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and precisely what it includes.

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Lease Extensions in Doncaster