Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Forest Row. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Forest Row - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Forest Row. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Forest Row.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Forest Row.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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 until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Forest Row conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Forest Row conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Forest Row conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £400000 maisonette in Forest Row on Thursday in a week. The management company has quoted £372 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 leasehold conveyance in Forest Row?

Forest Row conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Forest Row, conveyancing having been completed 2006. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Forest Row with over 90 years remaining are worth £186,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2080

With just 58 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £20,900 and £24,200 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Forest Row