I only have 72 years left on my flat in Rusholme. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If 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. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would 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 wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Rusholme.

I own a leasehold flat in Rusholme. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Rusholme who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Rusholme conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Rusholme which have about forty five years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Rusholme is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Rusholme conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Rusholme. 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Rusholme what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Rusholme is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Bank of Scotland, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Rusholme Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

What restrictions exist in the Rusholme Lease? Most Rusholme leasehold properties will have a service charge for maintenance of the building levied by the landlord. Where you acquire the property you will have to meet this charge, usually quarterly throughout the year. This could be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to check as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds. The answer will be helpful as a) areas could result in problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the running of the building you will need to have complete disclosure

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Lease Extensions in Rusholme