Common questions relating to Newton Aycliffe leasehold conveyancing
I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Newton Aycliffe. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.
Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Newton Aycliffe - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
I have recently realised that I have Seventy years remaining on my flat in Newton Aycliffe. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?
On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Newton Aycliffe.
Planning to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Newton Aycliffe. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?
The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Newton Aycliffe should include some of the following:
- Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Newton Aycliffe. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to 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 am employed by a busy estate agent office in Newton Aycliffe where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Newton Aycliffe conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is 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.
I acquired a split level flat in Newton Aycliffe, conveyancing was carried out 6 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar flats in Newton Aycliffe with a long lease are worth £212,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2100
With 75 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.
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