I only have 68 years left on my lease in Chilwell. I now wish to get lease extension 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 submit an application 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 Court. 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 helpful to conduct investigations 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 conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Chilwell.

Planning to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Chilwell. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Chilwell.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Chilwell conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Chilwell conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Chilwell conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £175000 flat in Chilwell next week. The managing agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Chilwell?

Chilwell conveyancing on leasehold flats often involves the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I own a ground floor flat in Chilwell, conveyancing having been completed 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? Comparable properties in Chilwell with over 90 years remaining are worth £182,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2105

You have 80 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 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 provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Chilwell