Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my lease in Woolacombe. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to 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 devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Woolacombe.

Expecting to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Woolacombe. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease grant a right of way over a path or staircase?

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Woolacombe.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

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 managing agents 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Woolacombe. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Woolacombe are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Woolacombe so you should seriously consider looking for a Woolacombe conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

What makes a Woolacombe lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Woolacombe. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Barnsley Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Woolacombe Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

If a Woolacombe lease has less than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have owned the property for 24 months before you are eligible to exercise a lease extension. The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the leaseholders have being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently employed if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. Most Woolacombe leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the landlord. Where you buy the apartment you will have to pay this charge, normally in instalments accross the year. This could differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a large amount, say about £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Woolacombe