I only have 72 years left on my lease in East Preston. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If 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 lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing East Preston.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in East Preston. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in East Preston ?

Most houses in East Preston are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in East Preston in which case you should be shopping around for a East Preston conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in East Preston both have approximately forty five years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in East Preston is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with East Preston conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in East Preston with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in East Preston can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? East Preston leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.

Some East Preston leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a East Preston home move. If a new share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £325000 apartment in East Preston next week. The management company has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in East Preston?

For the majority of leasehold sales in East Preston conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in East Preston
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for East Preston leasehold premises is £350. For East Preston conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in East Preston, conveyancing was carried out 2002. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable properties in East Preston with a long lease are worth £206,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2095

With only 69 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in East Preston