There are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Cross Keys. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Cross Keys.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Cross Keys. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Cross Keys are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Cross Keys so you should seriously consider looking for a Cross Keys conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Cross Keys. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Cross Keys where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Cross Keys conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cross Keys with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cross Keys can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Cross Keys levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cross Keys.
• A minority of Cross Keys leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Cross Keys home move. If a reissued share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

I bought a 2 bed flat in Cross Keys, conveyancing having been completed in 2011. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Cross Keys with an extended lease are worth £256,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2079

With only 53 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £29,500 and £34,000 plus legals.

The figure 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 this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.