I have recently realised that I have Fifty years left on my flat in Henfield. I need 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 an order 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 prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Henfield.

Looking forward to complete next month on a leasehold property in Henfield. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Henfield please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Henfield

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Henfield which have in the region of 50 years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Henfield conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Henfield conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Henfield conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Henfield in the last 12 months?

We expect to complete our sale of a £275000 garden flat in Henfield next Monday . The management company has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Henfield?

Henfield conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily necessitates administration charges levied by managing agents :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Henfield
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Henfield leasehold premises is £350. For Henfield conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Henfield - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

You should be aware that where the lease has less than 80 years it will impact the value of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are content with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out how much this will be. For most Henfieldlease extensions you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the premises for two years in order to be legally able to extend the lease. How long is the Lease? The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Henfield