Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years left on my flat in Snettisham. I need to get lease extension but my landlord 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 apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Snettisham.

I own a leasehold flat in Snettisham. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Snettisham who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Snettisham conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Snettisham. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. Strange as it may seem, 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 be sure 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 busy estate agent office in Snettisham where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Snettisham conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

What are the common problems that you witness in leases for Snettisham properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Snettisham is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , The Mortgage Works, and Bank of Ireland all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Snettisham - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

The answer will be useful as a) areas can cause problems in the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to have all the details For most Snettisham leaseholds the cost for major works tend not to be included within service charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Snettisham obliged leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance. If a Snettisham lease has no more than 80 years it will impact the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are content with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Snettishamlease extensions you will need to own the premises for a couple of years in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Snettisham