Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my flat in Frenchay Common. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Frenchay Common.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Expecting to complete next month on a leasehold property in Frenchay Common. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Frenchay Common should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Frenchay Common please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Frenchay Common

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold house in Frenchay Common. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Frenchay Common who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Frenchay Common conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a two flats in Frenchay Common both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Frenchay Common. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Frenchay Common where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Frenchay Common conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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 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 needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Frenchay Common, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1996. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Frenchay Common with an extended lease are worth £268,000. The ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2076

With just 50 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £42,800 and £49,400 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.