I only have Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Falmouth. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. 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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Falmouth.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Falmouth.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Falmouth where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Falmouth conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, 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 buyer.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Falmouth conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Falmouth conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Falmouth conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Falmouth in the last twenty four months?

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

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Falmouth can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• A minority of Falmouth 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 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Falmouth home move. If a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I acquired a split level flat in Falmouth, conveyancing was carried out 1998. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Falmouth with over 90 years remaining are worth £269,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2098

With 72 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.