I have recently realised that I have Fifty years left on my flat in Kelsall. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If 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 lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Kelsall.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Kelsall.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 managing agents 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Kelsall. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Kelsall who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Kelsall conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Kelsall both have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a busy estate agency in Kelsall where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Kelsall conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 proposed purchaser can avoid having 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.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Kelsall - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

How much is the ground rent and service charge? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Its a good idea to discover as much as possible about the managing agents as they will either make living at the property much easier or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day issues like the tidiness of the common parts. Ask other tenants whether they are happy with their management. In conclusion, be sure you know the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and precisely what it includes.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Kelsall