There are only 68 years left on my flat in Ingleby Barwick. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

If you qualify, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court 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 absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Ingleby Barwick.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold house in Ingleby Barwick. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Ingleby Barwick who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Ingleby Barwick conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Ingleby Barwick both have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Ingleby Barwick is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises 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 Ingleby Barwick conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Ingleby Barwick. Do I have any liability for 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. 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ingleby Barwick with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ingleby Barwick can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Ingleby Barwick charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ingleby Barwick.
• Some Ingleby Barwick leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Ingleby Barwick Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Is there a share of the freehold? Is anyone aware of any major works in the planning that could increase the maintenance costs? The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is often employed if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.