I only have Seventy years remaining on my lease in Kirkby Stephen. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Kirkby Stephen.

Expecting to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Kirkby Stephen. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Kirkby Stephen should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• The total extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but could also incorporate a roof space or basement if applicable.
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Kirkby Stephen which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Kirkby Stephen. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kirkby Stephen from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kirkby Stephen can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Kirkby Stephen levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kirkby Stephen.
• A minority of Kirkby Stephen leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The 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 you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Are there common defects that you witness in leases for Kirkby Stephen properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Kirkby Stephen is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Virgin Money, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I purchased a studio flat in Kirkby Stephen, conveyancing was carried out in 1996. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Kirkby Stephen with over 90 years remaining are worth £240,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2087

With just 61 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.