There are only Fifty years remaining on my flat in Kelsall. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Kelsall.

Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Kelsall. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The total extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but might include a loft or cellar if appropriate.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Kelsall which have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I work for a busy estate agency in Kelsall where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Kelsall conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 Kelsall lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Kelsall. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could 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. Birmingham Midshires, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I purchased a garden flat in Kelsall, conveyancing having been completed 2005. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Kelsall with over 90 years remaining are worth £221,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2092

With only 66 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £11,400 and £13,200 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Kelsall