I have recently realised that I have 72 years left on my flat in Prescot. I am keen 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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Prescot.

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Prescot.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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 own a leasehold house in Prescot. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Prescot who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Prescot conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. 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 am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Prescot which have about forty five years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Prescot. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Prescot. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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. However, 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 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).

Prescot Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying

You should be aware if it is less than eighty years it will impact the salability of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely require a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. For most Prescotlease extensions you will need to own the property for a couple of years in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension. Be sure to find out if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. By way of example plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Prescot. If you love the apartmentin Prescot yet your cat can’t move with you then you will be presented with a difficult compromise. Can you tell me if there are any major works in the near future that will increase the service charges?

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Lease Extensions in Prescot