I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Cross Keys. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Cross Keys.

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

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Cross Keys conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Cross Keys conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Cross Keys conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cross Keys with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cross Keys can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Cross Keys leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
• Some Cross Keys leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 125000 apartment in Cross Keys in seven days. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Cross Keys?

Cross Keys conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often involves the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be content to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Cross Keys - Sample of Queries Prior to buying