I have recently realised that I have 72 years remaining on my flat in Griffithstown. I am keen 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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Griffithstown.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed flat in Griffithstown.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

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

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Griffithstown both have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Griffithstown is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. For most buyers and lenders, leases with under eighty 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 property 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 property 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 Griffithstown 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Griffithstown. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

We expect to complete the sale of our £200000 garden flat in Griffithstown next week. The managing agents has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Griffithstown?

Griffithstown conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I acquired a leasehold flat in Griffithstown, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2008. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Griffithstown with a long lease are worth £200,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2097

With only 72 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Griffithstown