I only have Fifty years left on my lease in Cheltenham. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Cheltenham.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Cheltenham. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Cheltenham who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Cheltenham conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Cheltenham which have about 50 years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £425000 flat in Cheltenham next week. The management company has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Cheltenham?

Cheltenham conveyancing on leasehold flats often involves the buyer’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

What makes a Cheltenham lease problematic?

Leasehold conveyancing in Cheltenham is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• 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

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Cheltenham - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Is the freehold owned collectively by the tenants? The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually retained if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. The majority of Cheltenham leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the building levied by the freeholder. Where you buy the property you will have to meet this liability, normally in instalments throughout the year. This can vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say about £25-£75 but you should to enquire as on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds.

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Lease Extensions in Cheltenham