I only have Fifty years left on my flat in Gamlingay. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Gamlingay.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Gamlingay. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Gamlingay are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Gamlingay in which case you should be shopping around for a Gamlingay conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Gamlingay. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. It is an essential part 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Gamlingay conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Gamlingay conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Gamlingay conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm completed in Gamlingay in the last twenty four months?

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Gamlingay what are the most common lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Gamlingay. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Coventry Building Society, and Britannia all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Gamlingay Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Does this lease have in excess of 80 years left? In the main the outlay for major works tend not to be wrapped into the service charges, although there some managing agents in Gamlingay obliged leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Gamlingay