I only have Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Frinton and Walton. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. 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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Frinton and Walton.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Frinton and Walton. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Frinton and Walton are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Frinton and Walton in which case you should be shopping around for a Frinton and Walton conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

I own a leasehold house in Frinton and Walton. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Frinton and Walton who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Frinton and Walton conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Frinton and Walton both have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Frinton and Walton. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

What makes a Frinton and Walton lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Frinton and Walton is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, The Mortgage Works, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Frinton and Walton - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

You should be aware that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the value of the apartment. Check with your mortgage company that they are content with remaining years on the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Frinton and Waltonlease extensions you would need to own the premises for two years in order to be eligible to carry out a lease extension. For many Frinton and Walton leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be built into the service charges, although there some managing agents in Frinton and Walton ask leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger works. It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other significant cost is due in the near future that will be shared amongst the leaseholders and will dramatically impact the level of the maintenance costs or necessitate a one off invoice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Frinton and Walton