I have recently realised that I have 72 years left on my lease in Okehampton. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Okehampton.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Okehampton. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Okehampton who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Okehampton conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Okehampton. Do I have any liability for 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. However, 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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Okehampton conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Okehampton conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Okehampton 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:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Okehampton in the last twenty four months?

Can they put you in touch with client in Okehampton who can give a testimonial?

All being well we will complete the sale of our £250000 apartment in Okehampton in 8 days. The freeholder has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Okehampton?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Okehampton conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Okehampton
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Okehampton leasehold premises is £350. For Okehampton conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

Okehampton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the lessees have control and even though a managing agent is frequently retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Many Okehampton leasehold properties will have a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the landlord. If you buy the property you will have to pay this liability, usually quarterly throughout the year. This can differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common areas. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large sum, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because sometimes it can be surprisingly expensive. This information is useful as a) areas could result in problems for the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will want to have full disclosure

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Okehampton