Recently asked questions relating to Goodrich leasehold conveyancing
There are only 68 years left on my flat in Goodrich. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?
If you qualify, 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Goodrich.
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Goodrich.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
It best that you pay the service charge 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Goodrich. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?
The majority of houses in Goodrich 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 Goodrich in which case you should be looking for a Goodrich conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Goodrich. Conveyancing and Birmingham Midshires mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Goodrich who acted for me is not around.Any advice?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Goodrich conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Goodrich conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Goodrich conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Goodrich conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:
- How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
Leasehold Conveyancing in Goodrich - Examples of Queries before Purchasing
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How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?
On the whole the outlay for major works are not built into the maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Goodrich obliged leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger works.
How much is the ground rent and service charge?
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