I have recently realised that I have Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Ladywood. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Ladywood.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Ladywood.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you pay the service charge 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold house in Ladywood. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage went though with no issue. 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 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Ladywood who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Ladywood conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, 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 Ladywood which have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Ladywood. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Are there common problems that you come across in leases for Ladywood properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Ladywood. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Chelsea Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Ladywood - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? How long is the Lease? Please note if it is fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Ladywoodlease extensions you would be required to have owned the property for two years before you are entitled to exercise a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ladywood