I only have 62 years unexpired on my flat in Beckermet. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Beckermet.

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Beckermet.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Beckermet. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Beckermet where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Beckermet conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 need not have to sit tight for 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 buyer.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Beckermet from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Beckermet can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Beckermet charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Beckermet.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Beckermet leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Beckermet home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I purchased a studio flat in Beckermet, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Beckermet with over 90 years remaining are worth £242,000. The ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2093

With 67 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.