I have recently realised that I have 62 years left on my flat in Bishopston. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. 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 for permission 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 done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Bishopston.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Bishopston. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Defining your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the building.For instance, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Bishopston where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Bishopston conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer 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 has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Bishopston conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Bishopston conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Bishopston conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Bishopston who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bishopston from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bishopston can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Bishopston charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bishopston.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Bishopston leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you fail to have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
• A minority of Bishopston leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Bishopston home move. If a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Bishopston Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Where a Bishopston lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Bishopstonlease extensions you would be be obliged to have owned the residence for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease. Are there any major works in the planning that will likely add a premium to the service fees?