I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Lewes. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Lewes - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my flat in Lewes. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Lewes.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Lewes. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The total extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but may include a roof space or basement if appropriate.
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Lewes please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Lewes

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

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lewes can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Lewes state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
• Some Lewes leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• 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 purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 150000 garden flat in Lewes on Friday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Lewes?

Lewes conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times involves fees being levied by freeholders :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Lewes
• 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 Lewes leasehold premises is £350. For Lewes 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 the information.

Lewes Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Who are the managing agents? Best to be warned whether window replacement or some other major work is coming up that will be shared by the leaseholders and will dramatically increase the the maintenance charges or result in a one time invoice.