I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Hamworthy. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Hamworthy - 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.

There are only Fifty years remaining on my lease in Hamworthy. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Hamworthy.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Hamworthy where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Hamworthy conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is 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 has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 appointing a Hamworthy conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Hamworthy conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Hamworthy conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hamworthy what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Hamworthy is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have 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. National Westminster Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Hamworthy - A selection of Queries Prior to buying