I have recently realised that I have Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Huyton. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. For most situations a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Huyton.

Due to complete next month on a studio apartment in Huyton. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Huyton should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Huyton where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Huyton conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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 buyer.

Completion in due on the sale of our £200000 flat in Huyton on Monday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Huyton?

Huyton conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often requires the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They may levy a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

What makes a Huyton lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Huyton is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts 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

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Huyton - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

How long is the Lease? It is important to be aware if window replacement or some other significant cost is due shortly that will be shared amongst the leaseholders and could well materially increase the the service charges or require a specific payment. You will want to discover as much as possible concerning the company managing the block as they can either make your life much easier or uncomfortable. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical matters like the upkeep of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants if they are happy with their management. In conclusion, find out the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the relevant party and precisely what it includes.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Huyton