Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Eastbourne. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Eastbourne - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I want to let out my leasehold flat in Eastbourne. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A lease governs relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Eastbourne do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I have recently realised that I have 62 years left on my flat in Eastbourne. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

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 extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Eastbourne.

I own a leasehold flat in Eastbourne. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Eastbourne who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Eastbourne conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Eastbourne with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Eastbourne can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Some Eastbourne leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Eastbourne conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

I invested in buying a garden flat in Eastbourne, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2000. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Eastbourne with over 90 years remaining are worth £212,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2100

With just 74 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.