I have recently realised that I have Fifty years left on my flat in Lake District. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

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 Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Lake District.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Lake District. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Lake District are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Lake District in which case you should be looking for a Lake District conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I own a leasehold flat in Lake District. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Lake District who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Lake District conveyancing solicitor 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 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Lake District. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Lake District conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Lake District conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Lake District conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

Lake District Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Please note that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will affect 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 most likely need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the property for 24 months in order to be eligible to carry out a lease extension. Its a good idea to discover as much as possible concerning the company managing the block as they can either make your living at the property much simpler or a lot more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues like the upkeep of the communal areas. You should not be shy to ask other tenants whether they are happy with their service. On a final note, be sure you know the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and specifically how they are spending the funds.