I only have Seventy years left on my flat in Shotton. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Shotton.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Shotton.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Shotton. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Shotton are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Shotton so you should seriously consider looking for a Shotton conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Shotton. Conveyancing and Birmingham Midshires mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Shotton who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Shotton conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Shotton where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Shotton conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Shotton Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Make sure you find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Shotton. If you love the propertyin Shotton but your dog can’t live with you then you have a very hard compromise. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? Is there a share of the freehold?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Shotton