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Top Five Questions relating to Hazlemere leasehold conveyancing

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my flat in Hazlemere. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

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 lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Hazlemere.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Hazlemere. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere should include some of the following:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or working from home
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Hazlemere please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Hazlemere

    • What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Hazlemere conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Hazlemere conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Hazlemere 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 helpful:

    • How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Hazlemere leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you dont have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
  • A minority of Hazlemere leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere what are the most frequent lease defects?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • 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 will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Skipton Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    I acquired a split level flat in Hazlemere, conveyancing having been completed in 2011. 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 Hazlemere with a long lease are worth £251,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2079

    With 55 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £27,600 and £31,800 as well as legals.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hazlemere