I only have Seventy years remaining on my flat in Aldborough Hatch. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Aldborough Hatch.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Expecting to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Aldborough Hatch. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Aldborough Hatch should include some of the following:

• The unexpired 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
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• 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
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Aldborough Hatch please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Aldborough Hatch

I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Aldborough Hatch. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Aldborough Hatch ?

The majority of houses in Aldborough Hatch are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Aldborough Hatch in which case you should be shopping around for a Aldborough Hatch conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Aldborough Hatch. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation 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).

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Aldborough Hatch where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Aldborough Hatch conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

I inherited a garden flat in Aldborough Hatch. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for the purchase of the freehold?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Aldborough Hatch conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Aldborough Hatch premises is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 61.36 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Aldborough Hatch - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

The majority of Aldborough Hatch leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the building set by the landlord. Should you acquire the flat you will have to meet this contribution, usually quarterly throughout the year. This can be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant figure, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check as sometimes it can be surprisingly expensive. How is the lease structured? The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees have being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is often retained if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.