There are only Fifty years remaining on my flat in Bideford. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. 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 apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Bideford.

I am hoping to complete next month on a basement flat in Bideford. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bideford should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Bideford which have approximately fifty years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Bideford. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Bideford where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Bideford conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have 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 simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Bideford what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Bideford. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• 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

You will have 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. Barclays , Bank of Scotland, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Bideford, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable properties in Bideford with over 90 years remaining are worth £239,000. The ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2088

You have 63 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £21,900 and £25,200 plus costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bideford