I only have Fifty years remaining on my flat in Westonzoyland. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that 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. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Westonzoyland.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Westonzoyland.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice 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 today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Westonzoyland. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Westonzoyland ?

Most houses in Westonzoyland are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Westonzoyland in which case you should be looking for a Westonzoyland conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold house in Westonzoyland. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Westonzoyland who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Westonzoyland conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Westonzoyland where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Westonzoyland conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence 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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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 agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Westonzoyland Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

How many years remain on the lease? What is the service charge and ground rent on the apartment? On the whole the outlay for major works are not wrapped into the service charges, although some managing agents in Westonzoyland obliged tenants to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major works.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Westonzoyland