Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my lease in Fenstanton. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Fenstanton.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Fenstanton. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a reputable estate agency in Fenstanton where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Fenstanton conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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 proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Fenstanton conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

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

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• How many lease extensions have they conducted in Fenstanton in the last 12 months?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Fenstanton with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Fenstanton can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Fenstanton state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. If you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.
• Some Fenstanton leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 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 new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Fenstanton conveyancing transaction. Where a new share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I purchased a basement flat in Fenstanton, conveyancing was carried out 1998. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Fenstanton with an extended lease are worth £236,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2079

With only 53 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £33,300 and £38,400 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.