I only have 62 years unexpired on my lease in Great Sankey. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Great Sankey.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Great Sankey.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge the invoice 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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 am looking at a two apartments in Great Sankey which have in the region of 50 years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Great Sankey. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Great Sankey. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. 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 are the common defects that you come across in leases for Great Sankey properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Great Sankey is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements 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

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Clydesdale all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Great Sankey, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Great Sankey with an extended lease are worth £264,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2092

You have 70 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £14,300 and £16,400 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Great Sankey