Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Kingsthorpe. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Kingsthorpe - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Kingsthorpe. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document 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 proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Kingsthorpe.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Kingsthorpe.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you pay 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 unless 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 own a leasehold flat in Kingsthorpe. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Kingsthorpe who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Kingsthorpe conveyancing practitioner 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 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Kingsthorpe which have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Kingsthorpe Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying

How long is the Lease? Who are the managing agents? What is the service charge and ground rent on the property?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Kingsthorpe