I have recently realised that I have 68 years left on my flat in Ottery St Mary. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Ottery St Mary.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Ottery St Mary. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Ottery St Mary are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Ottery St Mary in which case you should be looking for a Ottery St Mary conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Ottery St Mary. 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 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 am employed by a busy estate agent office in Ottery St Mary where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Ottery St Mary conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with 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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ottery St Mary from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ottery St Mary can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Ottery St Mary charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. 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 Ottery St Mary.

Ottery St Mary Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Be sure to discover if the the lease includes any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Ottery St Mary. If you like the flatin Ottery St Mary but your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be faced hard determination. What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the flat? Its a good idea to discover as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they can either make your living at the property much simpler or uncomfortable. As the owner of a leasehold property you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day matters such as the cleanliness of the common parts. You should not be afraid to ask prospective neighbours what they think of them. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the relevant party and precisely what it includes.

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Lease Extensions in Ottery St Mary