I only have Seventy years remaining on my lease in Brighouse. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Brighouse.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Brighouse both have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Brighouse. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Brighouse. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Brighouse where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Brighouse conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Brighouse conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Brighouse conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Brighouse conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Brighouse - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

You will want to find out as much as you can about the company managing the building as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day matters such as the cleanliness of the communal areas. Don't be afraid to ask other people whether they are happy with them. Finally, be sure you discover the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the appropriate party and specifically how they are spending that money. You should be aware if it is no more than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the property for two years in order to be legally able to carry out a lease extension. Who manages the block?