Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Wolviston. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Wolviston.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Wolviston.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Wolviston. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Wolviston who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Wolviston conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Wolviston both have approximately 50 years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Wolviston. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Wolviston conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Wolviston conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Wolviston conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

Wolviston Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Many Wolviston leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. If you buy the property you will have to pay this liability, normally in instalments accross the year. This may be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common areas. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, normally this is not a large amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to check as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. Does the lease have more than 80 years unexpired? This information is helpful as a) areas could cause problems for the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate if services are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will need to know about it

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Wolviston