I have recently realised that I have Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Cambourne. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If 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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Cambourne.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Cambourne. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Cambourne which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Cambourne is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Cambourne conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cambourne from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cambourne can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Cambourne levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cambourne.

We expect to complete the sale of our £125000 apartment in Cambourne next week. The freeholder has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Cambourne?

Cambourne conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

I own a 1st floor flat in Cambourne, conveyancing having been completed 7 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Cambourne with a long lease are worth £182,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2073

With only 50 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £38,000 and £44,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed 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 considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cambourne