I only have 68 years remaining on my flat in Shotton. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Shotton.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Shotton which have approximately 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Shotton is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. For most purchasers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. 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 property 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 premises 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 Shotton 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 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 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Shotton. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. It is an essential part 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).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Shotton where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Shotton conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Shotton with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shotton can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Shotton state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Shotton - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Best to be warned if window replacement or some other major work is due shortly that will be shared amongst the leasehold owners and may well dramatically increase the the maintenance fees or necessitate a specific payment. Most Shotton leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block set by the freeholder. Where you acquire the property you will have to pay this contribution, usually quarterly throughout the year. This may differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a significant figure, say around £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. What restrictions exist in the Shotton Lease?

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Lease Extensions in Shotton