Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Barnstaple. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Barnstaple - 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 have recently realised that I have Sixty One years left on my flat in Barnstaple. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that 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 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 locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Barnstaple.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Barnstaple. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Barnstaple who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Barnstaple conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Barnstaple which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Barnstaple. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a busy estate agent office in Barnstaple where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Barnstaple conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 for a lease extension. 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.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

I am the registered owner of a 2 bed flat in Barnstaple, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable properties in Barnstaple with over 90 years remaining are worth £175,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2078

With 52 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Barnstaple