I only have Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Maldon. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order 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. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Maldon.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Maldon. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Maldon who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Maldon conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Maldon. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Maldon conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Maldon conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Maldon conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Maldon what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Maldon. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Coventry Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Maldon Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Does the lease have onerous restrictions? It would be sensible to enquire if the the lease includes any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Maldon. If you like the propertyin Maldon yet your dog can’t live with you then you will be presented with a difficult compromise. How many years remain on the lease?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Maldon