Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Egremont. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Egremont - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Egremont. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search 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 solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Egremont.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Egremont. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Egremont ?

The majority of houses in Egremont are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Egremont in which case you should be looking for a Egremont conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Egremont which have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Egremont is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 Egremont 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 the agreed 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 am employed by a long established estate agency in Egremont where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Egremont conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Egremont - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Plenty Egremont leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block invoiced on behalf of the management company. If you acquire the flat you will have to meet this contribution, normally periodically throughout the year. This could be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, normally this is not a large sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. Generally speaking the outlay for major works are not included within service charges, although there some managing agents in Egremont ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for larger works. This information is important as a) areas can cause problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to have complete disclosure

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Lease Extensions in Egremont