I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Ilfracombe. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Ilfracombe - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 have recently realised that I have Seventy years left on my flat in Ilfracombe. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. In some cases a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Ilfracombe.

Expecting to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Ilfracombe. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• 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
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I own a leasehold house in Ilfracombe. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Ilfracombe who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Ilfracombe conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a long established estate agency in Ilfracombe where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Ilfracombe conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Ilfracombe, conveyancing formalities finalised 2003. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Ilfracombe with over 90 years remaining are worth £206,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2086

With just 60 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,000 and £23,000 plus 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 advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should 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 without first seeking the advice of a professional.