Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years left on my lease in Ripon. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Ripon.

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Ripon.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is 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 management companies 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Ripon which have about forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Ripon. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Ripon. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. It is an essential part 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).

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Ripon what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Ripon. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements 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

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Leeds Building Society, and Britannia all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I inherited a garden flat in Ripon, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Ripon with a long lease are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2089

With just 64 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £14,300 and £16,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Ripon