I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Kelsall. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Kelsall.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Kelsall. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Kelsall who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Kelsall conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Kelsall both have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Kelsall is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Kelsall conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

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

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kelsall conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Kelsall conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• How many lease extensions have they conducted in Kelsall in the last year?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kelsall with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kelsall can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Kelsall charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kelsall.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Kelsall state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
• A minority of Kelsall leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.

I acquired a studio flat in Kelsall, conveyancing was carried out 2006. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in Kelsall with over 90 years remaining are worth £235,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2098

With just 72 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £10,500 and £12,000 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.