I have recently realised that I have 72 years remaining on my lease in Castle Bromwich. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, 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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Castle Bromwich.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just 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 Castle Bromwich. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Castle Bromwich are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Castle Bromwich in which case you should be shopping around for a Castle Bromwich conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold flat in Castle Bromwich. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Castle Bromwich who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Castle Bromwich conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Castle Bromwich from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Castle Bromwich can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Castle Bromwich levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Castle Bromwich.

If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Castle Bromwich leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. If you dont have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.

A minority of Castle Bromwich leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £225000 flat in Castle Bromwich next Wednesday . The landlords agents has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Castle Bromwich?

Castle Bromwich conveyancing on leasehold flats typically involves fees being invoiced by management companies :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Castle Bromwich
• 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 Castle Bromwich leasehold property is £350. For Castle Bromwich 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 supply answers.

I inherited a 1st floor flat in Castle Bromwich, conveyancing was carried out 2005. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Castle Bromwich with a long lease are worth £270,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2083

You have 60 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £21,900 and £25,200 plus 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. You should not use the figures 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. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Castle Bromwich