There are only 68 years unexpired on my flat in Scotter. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If 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 lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Scotter.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Scotter. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Scotter should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

I am looking at a two apartments in Scotter which have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Scotter is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. For most buyers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive 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 Scotter conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Scotter from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Scotter can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Scotter leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Scotter what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Scotter is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. 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 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

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Bank of Scotland, and Platform Home Loans Ltd 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 provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Scotter - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Many Scotter leasehold flats will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the landlord. Where you acquire the property you will have to pay this amount, normally periodically throughout the year. This could differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a significant amount, say around £25-£75 but you need to check as occasionally it can be surprisingly expensive. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? Is there a share of the freehold?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Scotter