Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Leconfield. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Leconfield.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Leconfield. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report 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 Leconfield should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Leconfield. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Leconfield are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Leconfield so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Leconfield conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Leconfield which have about fifty years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Leconfield is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than 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 property 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 property 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 Leconfield conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Leconfield where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Leconfield conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Leconfield Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the leaseholders enjoy being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Many Leconfield leasehold properties will have a service charge for maintenance of the block levied by the freeholder. Should you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this amount, usually quarterly accross the year. This may be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to enquire as occasionally it could be surprisingly expensive. Does this lease have in excess of 85 years unexpired?

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Lease Extensions in Leconfield