I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Gloucester. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Gloucester - 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 68 years left on my flat in Gloucester. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Gloucester.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Gloucester from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Gloucester can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Gloucester state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. If you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
• Some Gloucester leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Gloucester conveyancing transaction. If a new share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 475000 apartment in Gloucester in nine days. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Gloucester?

Gloucester conveyancing on leasehold apartments often requires the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

What makes a Gloucester lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Gloucester. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and Britannia all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Gloucester, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. 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 flats in Gloucester with a long lease are worth £185,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2101

With only 75 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.