There are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Sowerby Bridge. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Sowerby Bridge.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Sowerby Bridge both have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Sowerby Bridge. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Sowerby Bridge. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation 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. A critical element 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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Sowerby Bridge conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Sowerby Bridge conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Sowerby Bridge conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

What makes a Sowerby Bridge lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Sowerby Bridge is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Sowerby Bridge Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

If a Sowerby Bridge lease has fewer than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the flat. Check with your lender that they are happy with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Sowerby Bridgelease extensions you would need to own the premises for a couple of years before you are legally able to extend the lease. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? Does the lease contain onerous restrictions?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Sowerby Bridge