Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years unexpired on my lease in Watnall. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Watnall.

Looking forward to complete next month on a basement flat in Watnall. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The total extent of the premises. This will be the property itself but might incorporate a roof space or basement if applicable.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Watnall both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

We expect to complete the disposal of our £400000 maisonette in Watnall next Friday . The landlords agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Watnall?

Watnall conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for answering 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 is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

What makes a Watnall lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Watnall is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions 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 provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Watnall Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Best to be warned if window replacement or some other significant cost is due in the foreseeable future to be shared by the tenants and will dramatically impact the level of the maintenance costs or necessitate a one time payment. Many Watnall leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the management company. Where you acquire the property you will have to meet this liability, normally periodically during the year. This can vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant figure, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. This question is useful as a) areas may result in problems in the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will need to have full disclosure

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Watnall