I only have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Bourton on the Water. 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 qualify, 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Bourton on the Water.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Bourton on the Water. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business

You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Bourton on the Water please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Bourton on the Water

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bourton on the Water with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bourton on the Water can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Bourton on the Water state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.

Some Bourton on the Water leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Bourton on the Water home move. If a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £350000 apartment in Bourton on the Water on Tuesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Bourton on the Water?

Bourton on the Water conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically necessitates fees being levied by landlords agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Bourton on the Water
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Bourton on the Water leasehold premises is £350. For Bourton on the Water 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 obliged to provide answers.

Are there frequently found defects that you encounter in leases for Bourton on the Water properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Bourton on the Water is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I own a leasehold flat in Bourton on the Water, conveyancing having been completed in 2004. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Bourton on the Water with over 90 years remaining are worth £245,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2102

With 78 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Bourton on the Water