There are only 62 years left on my lease in Seascale. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Seascale.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Seascale. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Seascale are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Seascale so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Seascale conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.

I own a leasehold house in Seascale. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Seascale who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Seascale conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, 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 Seascale which have about forty five years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as 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 assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Seascale where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Seascale conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is 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 needs to be completed 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 purchaser.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Seascale - Sample of Queries before buying

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