Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Cookham. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Cookham - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

I have recently realised that I have 68 years unexpired on my flat in Cookham. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. 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 Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Cookham.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Cookham. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The total extent of the property. This will be the property itself but may incorporate a roof space or basement if applicable.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Cookham 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 been given contradictory information from local Cookham conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 to extend their lease. 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 sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

What makes a Cookham lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Cookham. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Clydesdale 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 is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I invested in buying a 1 bedroom flat in Cookham, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2004. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar flats in Cookham with over 90 years remaining are worth £186,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2091

With only 70 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. 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 want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cookham