Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Hulme. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder 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 Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Hulme.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Hulme. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Setting out your rights in respect of the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease grant a right of way over a path or staircase?
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• 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
• 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
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

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

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Hulme conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Hulme 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 familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What are the charges for lease extension work?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hulme from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hulme can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Hulme charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hulme.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Hulme leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Hulme conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Are there common problems that you witness in leases for Hulme properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Hulme is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Barnsley Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I invested in buying a studio flat in Hulme, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Hulme with a long lease are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2089

You have 63 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £18,100 and £20,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you 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.