Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my lease in Anlaby. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Anlaby.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Anlaby.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until 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 today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Anlaby. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Anlaby ?

Most houses in Anlaby are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Anlaby so you should seriously consider looking for a Anlaby conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Anlaby where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Anlaby conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

Are there frequently found problems that you encounter in leases for Anlaby properties?

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

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• 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 as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, The Royal Bank of Scotland, 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 problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I purchased a split level flat in Anlaby, conveyancing formalities finalised 1995. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding flats in Anlaby with a long lease are worth £228,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2095

With 69 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.