I have recently realised that I have Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Kirkby In Furness. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Kirkby In Furness.

Due to complete next month on a basement flat in Kirkby In Furness. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

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.

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Kirkby In Furness please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Kirkby In Furness

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Kirkby In Furness. 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 be sure 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kirkby In Furness with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kirkby In Furness can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Kirkby In Furness charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kirkby In Furness.

A minority of Kirkby In Furness leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £150000 garden flat in Kirkby In Furness next week. The management company has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Kirkby In Furness?

Kirkby In Furness conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates administration charges invoiced by freeholders :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Kirkby In Furness
• 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 Kirkby In Furness leasehold property is £350. For Kirkby In Furness 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 obliged to supply the information.

I invested in buying a 1 bedroom flat in Kirkby In Furness, conveyancing having been completed in 2004. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Kirkby In Furness with an extended lease are worth £178,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2091

You have 66 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Kirkby In Furness