I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Flamborough. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Flamborough - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

There are only 62 years left on my flat in Flamborough. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Flamborough.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Flamborough which have about 50 years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Flamborough. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a busy estate agent office in Flamborough where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Flamborough conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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 disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Flamborough from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Flamborough can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Flamborough leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you fail to have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.

I bought a ground floor flat in Flamborough, conveyancing formalities finalised 2005. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Flamborough with over 90 years remaining are worth £224,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2092

You have 67 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £14,300 and £16,400 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures 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. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Flamborough