I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Blakeney. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

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 lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Blakeney.

I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Blakeney.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Blakeney. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Blakeney ?

Most houses in Blakeney are freehold and not 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 Blakeney so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Blakeney conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Blakeney with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Blakeney can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Blakeney levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Blakeney.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Blakeney leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.

Some Blakeney leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to 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 buyers or their solicitors.

If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

Completion in due on the sale of our £200000 garden flat in Blakeney in 8 days. The landlords agents has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Blakeney?

For most leasehold sales in Blakeney conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Blakeney
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Blakeney leasehold premises is £350. For Blakeney 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 am the registered owner of a studio flat in Blakeney, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding flats in Blakeney with over 90 years remaining are worth £168,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2095

With only 75 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Blakeney