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Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Thornhill

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my lease in Thornhill. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Thornhill.

I own a leasehold house in Thornhill. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Thornhill who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Thornhill conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Thornhill both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Thornhill. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Thornhill with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Thornhill can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Thornhill levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Thornhill.
  • A minority of Thornhill leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Thornhill Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

      The best form of lease arrangement is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants have control and although a managing agent is often employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other significant cost is due in the foreseeable future that will be shared amongst the tenants and may well materially increase the the maintenance costs or necessitate a one time invoice. Make sure you discover if the the lease includes any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For instance it is reasonably common in Thornhill leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Thornhill. If you like the apartmentin Thornhill however your dog can’t live with you then you have a very difficult determination.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Thornhill