I only have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Ramsbottom. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Ramsbottom.

I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Ramsbottom. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Ramsbottom are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Ramsbottom so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Ramsbottom conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Ramsbottom both have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Ramsbottom. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. 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 be sure 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 provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ramsbottom with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ramsbottom can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Ramsbottom leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
• A minority of Ramsbottom leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Ramsbottom - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

How is the lease structured? It would be wise to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example it is reasonably common in Ramsbottom leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Ramsbottom. If you like the propertyin Ramsbottom yet your dog can’t move with you then you have a very difficult choice.