I have recently realised that I have 68 years unexpired on my lease in Ormskirk. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

If you qualify, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Ormskirk.

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Ormskirk.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Ormskirk which have approximately forty five years left on the leases. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I work for a busy estate agent office in Ormskirk where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Ormskirk conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 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.

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.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Ormskirk conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Ormskirk conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Ormskirk conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

Ormskirk Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

This question is important as a) areas may cause problems for the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the tenants have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to have full disclosure It would be prudent to find out as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they will either make your living at the property much simpler or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical issues such as the tidiness of the communal areas. You should not be afraid to ask other people if they are happy with their management. On a final note, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and specifically what you get for your money.