Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Colne. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Colne - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Colne. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Colne.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Colne where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Colne conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Colne conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Colne conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Colne conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How many lease extensions have they completed in Colne in the last twenty four months?

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Colne what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Colne. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Bank of Scotland, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I inherited a leasehold flat in Colne, conveyancing formalities finalised 5 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Colne with an extended lease are worth £252,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2089

With only 64 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £18,100 and £20,800 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you 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.

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Lease Extensions in Colne