Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Hungerford. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Hungerford - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

I only have Seventy years remaining on my flat in Hungerford. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Hungerford.

Expecting to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Hungerford. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Hungerford should include some of the following:

• Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or working from home
• You should 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
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Hungerford where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Hungerford conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means 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 needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.

What makes a Hungerford lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Hungerford is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are not included. 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
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Virgin Money, 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 problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I own a ground floor flat in Hungerford, conveyancing formalities finalised 8 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding flats in Hungerford with an extended lease are worth £254,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2077

With just 51 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £36,100 and £41,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.