Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Mayfield. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Mayfield.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Mayfield both have in the region of forty five years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Mayfield. 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 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 work for a busy estate agency in Mayfield where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Mayfield conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Mayfield from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Mayfield can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Mayfield levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Mayfield.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Mayfield state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
• A minority of Mayfield leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Mayfield conveyancing transaction. Where a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Mayfield - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How much is the service charge and ground rent on the flat? Is anyone aware of any major works in the planning that will likely increase the service fees?