Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Bognor Regis:

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Bognor Regis leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Bognor Regis. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Bognor Regis.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Bognor Regis. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bognor Regis should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • The total extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but might include a loft or basement if appropriate.
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide. For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Bognor Regis please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Bognor Regis

    • I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Bognor Regis.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

    It best that you 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 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 work for a long established estate agency in Bognor Regis where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Bognor Regis conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

    Provided that 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 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 has to be done before, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

    Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Bognor Regis 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 Bognor Regis conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Bognor Regis conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

    • How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • What are the charges for lease extension work?

    • I inherited a studio flat in Bognor Regis, conveyancing was carried out 2007. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Bognor Regis with a long lease are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2092

    You have 67 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £13,300 and £15,400 plus legals.

    The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Bognor Regis