I only have Fifty years left on my flat in Ettington. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Ettington.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Ettington. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Ettington ?

Most houses in Ettington are freehold and not 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 apparent that you are buying in Ettington in which case you should be shopping around for a Ettington conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Ettington which have approximately 50 years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Ettington is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. For most buyers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat 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 Ettington 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 the agreed 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 advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ettington with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ettington can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Ettington leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.

A minority of Ettington 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 financial (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 hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Ettington home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company officers 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 it would be wise to double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £375000 garden flat in Ettington in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Ettington?

Ettington conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily necessitates fees being invoiced by managing agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Ettington
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Ettington leasehold premises is £350. For Ettington 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 purchased a 2 bed flat in Ettington, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Ettington with a long lease are worth £243,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2095

With 70 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Ettington