I only have 62 years left on my lease in St Mawes. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

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 prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing St Mawes.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in St Mawes. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in St Mawes ?

Most houses in St Mawes are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in St Mawes in which case you should be looking for a St Mawes conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission 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 part of an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

I own a leasehold flat in St Mawes. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in St Mawes who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a St Mawes conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a busy estate agent office in St Mawes where we see a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local St Mawes conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities 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 commence 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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, 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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a St Mawes conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a St Mawes conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non St Mawes conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

St Mawes Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

This information is important as a) areas can cause problems in the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to know about it Best to be warned if changing the roof or some other significant cost is anticipated that will be shared between the tenants and could well materially impact the level of the maintenance fees or result in a specific payment. Can you inform me if there are any major works on the horizon that could increase the maintenance charges?

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Lease Extensions in St Mawes