I only have 62 years unexpired on my flat in Kingsbridge. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord 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 submit an application 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 Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Kingsbridge.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Kingsbridge.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the service charge 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I own a leasehold house in Kingsbridge. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Kingsbridge who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Kingsbridge conveyancing lawyer 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 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Kingsbridge conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

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

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

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbridge from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbridge can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Kingsbridge leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
• A minority of Kingsbridge leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a new share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Kingsbridge conveyancing deal. If a new share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Kingsbridge Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

This information is helpful as a) areas could result in problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to have all the details Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? For most Kingsbridge leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be built into the maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Kingsbridge ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for major works.