Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Kings Norton. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application 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 have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Kings Norton.

Planning to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Kings Norton. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Kings Norton please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Kings Norton

I own a leasehold house in Kings Norton. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Kings Norton who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Kings Norton 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 legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a two flats in Kings Norton both have about forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Kings Norton is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. 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 Kings Norton 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 the agreed 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.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £175000 garden flat in Kings Norton in just under a week. The management company has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Kings Norton?

Kings Norton conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates administration charges raised by freeholders :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Kings Norton
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Kings Norton leasehold property is £350. For Kings Norton conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

Kings Norton Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Plenty Kings Norton leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the freeholder. If you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this contribution, usually in instalments throughout the year. This may be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say about £50-£100 but you should to check it because occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds. How is the lease structured? What restrictions are contained in the Kings Norton Lease?

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Lease Extensions in Kings Norton