I only have 68 years remaining on my flat in Maryport. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord 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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Maryport.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Maryport. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Maryport are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Maryport so you should seriously consider looking for a Maryport conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.

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

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).

I work for a reputable estate agency in Maryport where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Maryport conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 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.

An alternative approach is 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £475000 garden flat in Maryport next Friday . The landlords agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Maryport?

Maryport conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally requires the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Maryport Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

You will want to find out as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical matters like the cleanliness of the common parts. You should not be shy to ask other people what they think of them. Finally, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the relevant party and precisely what you get for your money. Many Maryport leasehold properties will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block levied by the freeholder. Should you purchase the flat you will have to meet this contribution, normally quarterly accross the year. This may be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to enquire as sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. If a Maryport lease has less than 80 years it will impact the value of the flat. Check with your lender that they are happy with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Maryportlease extensions you will be required to have been the owner of the residence for a couple of years in order to be legally able to exercise a lease extension.

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Lease Extensions in Maryport