I have recently realised that I have 72 years left on my lease in Trimdon. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

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 Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Trimdon.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Trimdon. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Trimdon ?

The majority of houses in Trimdon are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Trimdon so you should seriously consider looking for a Trimdon conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Trimdon which have approximately 50 years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Trimdon is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Trimdon conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Trimdon where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Trimdon conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Trimdon conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Trimdon conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Trimdon conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Trimdon - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

What prohibitions exist in the Trimdon Lease? How much is the ground rent and service charge? Best to be warned whether a new roof is being installed or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared by the tenants and could well materially increase the the service costs or necessitate a one time invoice.

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Lease Extensions in Trimdon