There are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Murton. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

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 extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Murton.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Murton where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Murton conveyancing firms. Can you confirm 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Murton conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Murton conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Murton conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Murton with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Murton can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Murton levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Murton.

What makes a Murton lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Murton. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• 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 encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Murton - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Best to be warned if redecorating or some other significant cost is coming up that will be shared amongst the tenants and will dramatically impact the level of the maintenance charges or require a one off invoice. You should be aware if it is no more than eighty years it will impact the salability of the flat. Check with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this will be. For most Murtonlease extensions you would need to own the property for a couple of years before you are entitled to extend the lease. The answer will be important as a) areas can result in problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to have full disclosure

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Murton