Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years left on my lease in Kemp Town. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Kemp Town.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Kemp Town.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Kemp Town where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Kemp Town conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kemp Town with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kemp Town can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Kemp Town levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kemp Town.

If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Kemp Town leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.

A minority of Kemp Town leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 purchasers or their lawyers.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £275000 apartment in Kemp Town in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Kemp Town?

Kemp Town conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves fees being invoiced by management companies :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Kemp Town
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Kemp Town leasehold property is £350. For Kemp Town conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Kemp Town - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? It would be wise to find out as much as you can regarding the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day issues like the tidiness of the common parts. Don't be shy to ask other people whether they are happy with them. In conclusion, find out the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the appropriate party and specifically how they are spending the funds. It is important to be aware whether redecorating or some other major work is pending to be shared by the leaseholders and will dramatically increase the the service fees or necessitate a specific payment.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Kemp Town