There are only Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Barnard Castle. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Barnard Castle.

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

Expecting to complete next month on a garden flat in Barnard Castle. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The physical extent of the property. This will be the property itself but might incorporate a roof space or basement if appropriate.
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Barnard Castle please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Barnard Castle

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Barnard Castle conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Barnard Castle conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Barnard Castle conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Barnard Castle in the last 12 months?

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 150000 flat in Barnard Castle next Thursday . The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Barnard Castle?

For most leasehold sales in Barnard Castle conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Barnard Castle
• 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 Barnard Castle leasehold premises is £350. For Barnard Castle 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 obliged to provide the information.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• 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

You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Barnsley Building Society, and Britannia all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I am the registered owner of a 1 bedroom flat in Barnard Castle, conveyancing was carried out in 2000. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Barnard Castle with a long lease are worth £175,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2092

You have 66 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £14,300 and £16,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.