Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Chesham Bois. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Chesham Bois.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Chesham Bois both have about forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Chesham Bois. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Chesham Bois conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Chesham Bois conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Chesham Bois conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £325000 flat in Chesham Bois next Thursday . The managing agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Chesham Bois?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Chesham Bois conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Chesham Bois
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Chesham Bois leasehold property is £350. For Chesham Bois 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 supply the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Chesham Bois - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Please note that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are happy with the length of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for two years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension. Is the freehold owned collectively by the leaseholders? The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is often employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Chesham Bois