Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Keswick. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order 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 or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Keswick.

I own a leasehold flat in Keswick. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Keswick who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Keswick conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate 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 two apartments in Keswick both have approximately 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Keswick conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Keswick conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Keswick conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Keswick in the last year?

All being well we will complete the sale of our £200000 flat in Keswick on Tuesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Keswick?

Keswick conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally results in administration charges raised by freeholders :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Keswick
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Keswick leasehold premises is £350. For Keswick 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 supply answers.

I purchased a basement flat in Keswick, conveyancing was carried out 6 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Keswick with an extended lease are worth £178,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2073

With just 50 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £38,000 and £44,000 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 advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Keswick