I only have Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Rothbury. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Rothbury.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Rothbury both have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Rothbury. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Rothbury. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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 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).

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Rothbury where we see a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Rothbury conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Are there common deficiencies that you see in leases for Rothbury properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Rothbury is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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 encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Mortgage Works, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements 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.

I own a basement flat in Rothbury, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding flats in Rothbury with over 90 years remaining are worth £265,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2079

You have 54 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £34,200 and £39,600 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Rothbury