I only have 62 years remaining on my lease in Shinfield. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Shinfield.

I've found a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Shinfield. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Shinfield ?

The majority of houses in Shinfield are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Shinfield so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Shinfield conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Shinfield both have approximately fifty years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Shinfield. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

Completion in due on the disposal of our £475000 garden flat in Shinfield on Wednesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Shinfield?

For most leasehold sales in Shinfield conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Shinfield
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Shinfield leasehold property is £350. For Shinfield conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Shinfield what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Shinfield. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• 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 will have 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. Santander, Virgin Money, and Clydesdale all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Shinfield - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

What prohibitions are contained in the Shinfield Lease? On the whole the cost for major works are not included within maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Shinfield obliged leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for major repairs or maintenance. Its a good idea to discover as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they will either make your life much simpler or problematic. As the owner of a leasehold property you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical matters like the cleanliness of the common parts. Ask other people what they think of their service. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and specifically what you get for your money.

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Lease Extensions in Shinfield