Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Wimborne. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order 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 demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Wimborne.

Due to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Wimborne. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

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

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Wimborne which have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Wimborne. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Wimborne. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

What makes a Wimborne lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Wimborne is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Bank of Scotland, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Wimborne Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

For most Wimborne leaseholds the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Wimborne obliged tenants to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major works. It would be prudent to discover as much as possible about the company managing the building as they can either make your life much simpler or a lot more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day issues like the upkeep of the common parts. Enquire of prospective neighbours whether they are happy with their service. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending that money. How much is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Wimborne