There are only Seventy years left on my flat in Winsford. I need to extend my lease but my landlord 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 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. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Winsford.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Winsford.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Winsford. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Winsford ?

Most houses in Winsford are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Winsford so you should seriously consider looking for a Winsford conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Winsford which have about forty five years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Winsford where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Winsford conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.

Winsford Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

The answer will be important as a) areas may result in problems for the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will want to know about it On the whole the cost for major works tend not to be incorporated into the maintenance charges, although some managing agents in Winsford ask tenants to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger works. If a Winsford lease has fewer than eighty years it will affect the salability of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are content with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will probably require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for 24 months in order to be legally able to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Winsford