There are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Holmfirth. I need to get lease extension but my landlord 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. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Holmfirth.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Holmfirth.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

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

I am attracted to a two flats in Holmfirth both have about fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Holmfirth is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Holmfirth conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Holmfirth where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Holmfirth conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means 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 needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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 buyer.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Holmfirth what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Holmfirth is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• 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 encounter 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. Nationwide Building Society, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Aldermore 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 provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Holmfirth - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

You should want to find out as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they can either make life much simpler or uncomfortable. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day issues like the upkeep of the communal areas. Don't be afraid to ask other tenants what they think of their management. Finally, be sure you know the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and specifically what you get for your money. On the whole the outlay for major works are not included within service charges, although there some managing agents in Holmfirth require leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for larger repairs or maintenance. It is important to be aware if changing the roof or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared by the leaseholders and will materially impact the level of the service charges or result in a specific invoice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Holmfirth