I have recently realised that I have 68 years left on my flat in Thornaby. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

If 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Thornaby.

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Thornaby.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am attracted to a two flats in Thornaby which have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Thornaby. Am I liable to pay 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 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).

What makes a Thornaby lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Thornaby. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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

You will encounter 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. National Westminster Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Thornaby Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

The answer will be useful as a) areas may result in problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will want to have complete disclosure The prefered form of lease arrangement is where the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants have control and although a managing agent is often employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.