Looking forward to exchange soon on a basement flat in Cirencester. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Cirencester. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Cirencester who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Cirencester conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Cirencester which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Cirencester. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Cirencester where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Cirencester conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 purchaser.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Cirencester with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cirencester can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Cirencester levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cirencester.
• Some Cirencester leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Cirencester, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1996. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Cirencester with over 90 years remaining are worth £250,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2096

With only 70 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.