I have recently realised that I have 62 years remaining on my lease in Bishops Lydeard. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Bishops Lydeard.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Bishops Lydeard. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Bishops Lydeard are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Bishops Lydeard in which case you should be shopping around for a Bishops Lydeard conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

I own a leasehold flat in Bishops Lydeard. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Bishops Lydeard who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Bishops Lydeard conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Lydeard from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Lydeard can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Bishops Lydeard charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Lydeard.

If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Bishops Lydeard conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important 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 premises on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £450000 apartment in Bishops Lydeard next Monday . The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Bishops Lydeard?

Bishops Lydeard conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily results in administration charges levied by freeholders :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Bishops Lydeard
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Bishops Lydeard leasehold premises is £350. For Bishops Lydeard 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 required to provide answers.

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Bishops Lydeard, conveyancing formalities finalised 6 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Bishops Lydeard with a long lease are worth £198,000. The ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2078

With just 53 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £32,300 and £37,400 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Bishops Lydeard