I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Beacon Hill. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Beacon Hill - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 Seventy years remaining on my lease in Beacon Hill. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Beacon Hill.

I own a leasehold flat in Beacon Hill. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Beacon Hill who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Beacon Hill conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Beacon Hill which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Beacon Hill is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Beacon Hill conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

What makes a Beacon Hill lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Beacon Hill is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• 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. Santander, Coventry Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express 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, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I inherited a 2 bed flat in Beacon Hill, conveyancing formalities finalised 2010. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Beacon Hill with an extended lease are worth £179,000. The ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2078

With only 53 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £30,400 and £35,200 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Beacon Hill