I only have Sixty One years left on my flat in Radcliffe. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Radcliffe.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Radcliffe. Do I have any liability for 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).

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Radcliffe where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Radcliffe conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is 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 needs to be completed before, or at the same time as 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Radcliffe conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Radcliffe conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Radcliffe conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Radcliffe what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Radcliffe is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Virgin Money, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Radcliffe Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Its a good idea to discover as much as possible about the company managing the block as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day matters like the upkeep of the common parts. You should not be afraid to ask prospective neighbours whether they are happy with their service. In conclusion, be sure you know the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and specifically what it includes. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Be sure to investigate if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Radcliffe. If you love the flatin Radcliffe however your dog is not allowed to make the move with you then you have a very difficult decision.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Radcliffe