There are only 68 years unexpired on my flat in Yarm On Tees. I now wish to extend my lease 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 submit an application 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Yarm On Tees.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Yarm On Tees. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Yarm On Tees ?

The majority of houses in Yarm On Tees are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Yarm On Tees in which case you should be looking for a Yarm On Tees conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Yarm On Tees. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Yarm On Tees who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Yarm On Tees conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Yarm On Tees. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. 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).

I work for a long established estate agency in Yarm On Tees where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Yarm On Tees conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.

Yarm On Tees Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

It is important to be aware if window replacement or some other significant cost is due in the foreseeable future to be shared amongst the tenants and will dramatically impact the level of the maintenance charges or require a one off invoice. Does the lease have onerous restrictions? This question is useful as a) areas may result in problems in the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will need to have all the details

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Lease Extensions in Yarm On Tees