I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Hermitage. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Hermitage - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Hermitage. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

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 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 Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Hermitage.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Hermitage.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 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 today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Hermitage. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Hermitage are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Hermitage in which case you should be shopping around for a Hermitage conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions 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 communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Hermitage where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Hermitage conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Hermitage Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Where a Hermitage lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have been the owner of the property for a couple of years in order to be legally able to extend the lease. This information is helpful as a) areas could result in problems for the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have all the details It is important to be aware whether changing the roof or some other major work is pending to be shared by the leaseholders and may well materially increase the the maintenance costs or result in a one time payment.

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Lease Extensions in Hermitage