There are only 68 years remaining on my lease in Marshalls Park. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Marshalls Park.

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Marshalls Park.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I've found a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Marshalls Park. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Marshalls Park are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Marshalls Park in which case you should be looking for a Marshalls Park 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. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Marshalls Park. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Marshalls Park who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Marshalls Park conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Marshalls Park which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Marshalls Park is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with under 75 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 Marshalls Park 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

Marshalls Park Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Make sure you investigate if the the lease contains any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. By way of example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Marshalls Park. If you love the flatin Marshalls Park yet your cat can’t live with you then you will be presented with a hard decision. Who is in charge of the building?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Marshalls Park