I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Appleton. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Appleton - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I only have 72 years left on my lease in Appleton. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

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 lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Appleton.

I own a leasehold flat in Appleton. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Appleton who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Appleton conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Appleton where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Appleton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller 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 wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Appleton conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Appleton conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Appleton conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

Appleton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Be sure to discover if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example it is very common in Appleton leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Appleton. If you like the propertyin Appleton but your cat can’t make the move with you then you will be faced difficult choice. Please note that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the residence for 24 months in order to be legally able to extend the lease. Best to be warned if changing the roof or some other significant cost is anticipated to be shared amongst the leaseholders and could well materially increase the the service charges or require a one time invoice.