There are only 68 years left on my lease in Parkstone. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Parkstone.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Parkstone. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Parkstone should include some of the following:

• The physical extent of the demise. This will be the flat itself but might incorporate a roof space or basement if appropriate.
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Parkstone please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Parkstone

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Parkstone. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 175000 apartment in Parkstone next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Parkstone?

Parkstone conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times involves administration charges levied by managing agents :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Parkstone
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Parkstone leasehold property is £350. For Parkstone conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

What makes a Parkstone lease problematic?

Leasehold conveyancing in Parkstone is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Skipton Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Parkstone - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Who is in charge of the block? If a Parkstone lease has less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the property. It is worth checking with your bank that they are happy 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. For most Parkstonelease extensions you will need to own the property for a couple of years before you are eligible to exercise a lease extension.