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

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Halkyn - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

There are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Halkyn. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. For most situations a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Halkyn.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Halkyn.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Halkyn. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Halkyn what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Halkyn. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 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. Santander, Virgin Money, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Halkyn - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

This question is helpful as a) areas can cause problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have complete disclosure Best to be warned if fixing the lift or some other major work is anticipated to be shared by the leasehold owners and may well materially impact the level of the maintenance charges or necessitate a specific payment. Generally speaking the cost for major works are not included within service charges, although there some managing agents in Halkyn ask leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Halkyn