There are only Seventy years left on my lease in Winchcombe. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Winchcombe.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Winchcombe.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Winchcombe. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Winchcombe who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Winchcombe conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Winchcombe from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Winchcombe can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• A minority of Winchcombe leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Winchcombe home move. Where a new share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 400000 garden flat in Winchcombe in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Winchcombe?

Winchcombe conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions most will be content to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Winchcombe Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Does the lease include onerous restrictions? Is the freehold owned jointly by the leaseholders?