There are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Caversham. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Caversham.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Caversham. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Caversham who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Caversham conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Caversham where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Caversham conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Caversham conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Caversham conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Caversham conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Caversham who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Caversham from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Caversham can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Caversham levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. 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 Caversham.
• A minority of Caversham leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Caversham home move. If a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

I purchased a leasehold flat in Caversham, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Caversham with an extended lease are worth £238,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2077

You have 51 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £39,900 and £46,200 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.