There are only 62 years remaining on my lease in Welton. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. 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 for permission 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 prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Welton.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Welton. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Welton who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Welton conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Welton which have in the region of forty five years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Welton is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 premises 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 Welton 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Welton. Do I have any liability for 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Welton from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Welton can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Welton state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.

Welton Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Best to be warned if window replacement or some other significant cost is pending to be shared amongst the leaseholders and will materially increase the the maintenance costs or necessitate a specific payment. The answer will be useful as a) areas may result in problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the tenants have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to have all the details Does this lease have more than 82 years left?

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Lease Extensions in Welton