There are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Eaglescliffe. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Eaglescliffe.

Due to exchange soon on a garden flat in Eaglescliffe. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Eaglescliffe should include some of the following:

• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Eaglescliffe. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Eaglescliffe are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Eaglescliffe in which case you should be shopping around for a Eaglescliffe conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Eaglescliffe. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. Strange as it may seem, 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).

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Eaglescliffe where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Eaglescliffe conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 buyer need not have 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 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 purchaser.

Eaglescliffe Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying

Plenty Eaglescliffe leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the management company. If you purchase the property you will have to meet this contribution, normally periodically throughout the year. This could differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, ordinarily this is not a large amount, say around £50-£100 but you need to check it because sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive. What is the name of the managing agents?