I have recently realised that I have 62 years left on my lease in Haslemere. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Haslemere.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Haslemere. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Haslemere who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Haslemere conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Haslemere. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Haslemere with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Haslemere can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Haslemere leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £225000 garden flat in Haslemere in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Haslemere?

Haslemere conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves the purchaser’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Haslemere, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Haslemere with an extended lease are worth £239,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2092

With 67 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £12,400 and £14,200 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Haslemere