I only have 72 years remaining on my flat in Formby. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. 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 used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Formby.

I have just started marketing my garden flat in Formby.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear the service charge 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've found a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Formby. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Formby are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Formby in which case you should be shopping around for a Formby conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Formby which have approximately fifty years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Formby is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Formby conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

We expect to complete the sale of our £175000 flat in Formby in just under a week. The management company has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Formby?

For most leasehold sales in Formby conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Formby
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Formby leasehold property is £350. For Formby conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

I acquired a ground floor flat in Formby, conveyancing having been completed in 2005. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable properties in Formby with over 90 years remaining are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2095

With just 69 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £12,400 and £14,200 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Formby