I only have Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Cross Keys. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

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 lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Cross Keys.

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Cross Keys.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

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 managing agents 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.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Cross Keys where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Cross Keys conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer 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 has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 buyer.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 400000 apartment in Cross Keys next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Cross Keys?

Cross Keys conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

Are there common problems that you witness in leases for Cross Keys properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Cross Keys. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• 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

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements 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 provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

I acquired a leasehold flat in Cross Keys, conveyancing was carried out 10 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding properties in Cross Keys with an extended lease are worth £255,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2096

With 70 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £12,400 and £14,200 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.