Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Hale Barns. 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 Hale Barns - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

I only have 68 years unexpired on my flat in Hale Barns. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Hale Barns.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Hale Barns where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Hale Barns conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Hale Barns conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Hale Barns conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Hale Barns conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Hale Barns in the last 12 months?

All being well we will complete the sale of our £350000 garden flat in Hale Barns on Monday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Hale Barns?

Hale Barns conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be content to do so. They may levy a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I own a studio flat in Hale Barns, conveyancing having been completed in 2007. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in Hale Barns with over 90 years remaining are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2079

With only 57 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £21,900 and £25,200 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do 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 clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hale Barns