There are only 72 years unexpired on my lease in Crowthorne. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Crowthorne.

I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Crowthorne. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Crowthorne are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Crowthorne so you should seriously consider looking for a Crowthorne conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Crowthorne where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Crowthorne conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with 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 appointing a Crowthorne conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Crowthorne conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Crowthorne conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Crowthorne in the last 12 months?
• What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Crowthorne what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Crowthorne is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Chelsea Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Crowthorne Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying

In the main the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Crowthorne obliged leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance.