I only have 62 years left on my lease in St Austell. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, 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 lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering St Austell.

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold house in St Austell. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in St Austell who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a St Austell conveyancing solicitor 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 legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in St Austell. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. 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).

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £200000 flat in St Austell next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in St Austell?

St Austell conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

What are the common problems that you come across in leases for St Austell properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in St Austell. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Barnsley Building Society, and Aldermore all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in St Austell - Examples of Queries before buying

Be sure to enquire if the the lease includes any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in St Austell. If you love the propertyin St Austell but your dog can’t live with you then you will be faced difficult compromise. Please tell me if there are any major works in the near future that could add a premium to the service costs? This information is helpful as a) areas could cause problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to have all the details

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Lease Extensions in St Austell