Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Wadebridge. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Wadebridge.

Due to complete next month on a leasehold property in Wadebridge. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Wadebridge should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

I have just appointed agents to market my basement flat in Wadebridge.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 managing agents 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Wadebridge where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Wadebridge conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £250000 maisonette in Wadebridge next week. The landlords agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Wadebridge?

Wadebridge conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not requires the buyer’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be content to do so. They may levy a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

Wadebridge Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Many Wadebridge leasehold apartments will have a service charge for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the freeholder. If you buy the property you will have to meet this amount, usually periodically accross the year. This can be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common grounds. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check it because occasionally it can be prohibitively expensive. What is the length of the lease? What is the name of the managing agents?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Wadebridge