I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Leeswood. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Leeswood - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I have recently realised that I have 62 years unexpired on my flat in Leeswood. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Leeswood.

Looking forward to complete next month on a leasehold property in Leeswood. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Leeswood should include some of the following:

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

The total extent of the property. This will be the property itself but could also include a loft or cellar if appropriate.

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Leeswood please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Leeswood

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Leeswood from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Leeswood can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Leeswood state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you dont have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.

Some Leeswood leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 solicitors.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property 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 the buyers completing the purchase. 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 buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Leeswood home move. Where a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

Completion in due on the sale of our £200000 apartment in Leeswood next week. The management company has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Leeswood?

Leeswood conveyancing on leasehold flats usually results in administration charges invoiced by landlords agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Leeswood
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Leeswood leasehold premises is £350. For Leeswood 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 required to supply the information.

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Leeswood, conveyancing formalities finalised 5 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Leeswood with an extended lease are worth £175,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2077

With only 56 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £23,800 and £27,400 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Leeswood