There are only 62 years unexpired on my flat in Exeter. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Exeter.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Exeter. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Exeter should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

I work for a long established estate agent office in Exeter where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Exeter conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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 proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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 are your top tips when it comes to finding a Exeter conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Exeter conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Exeter conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £275000 maisonette in Exeter on Wednesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Exeter?

Exeter conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the buyer’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

Exeter Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

Many Exeter leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the freeholder. If you buy the property you will have to meet this amount, usually periodically throughout the year. This can be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, normally this is not a exorbitant sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to check as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. How is the lease structured? The answer will be helpful as a) areas can cause problems for the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the running of the building you will need to have complete disclosure

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Lease Extensions in Exeter