Having had my offer accepted I require 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 registered - and almost all 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.

There are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Lewes. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If 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 extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Lewes.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Lewes. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Lewes are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Lewes in which case you should be shopping around for a Lewes conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Lewes both have about 50 years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Lewes is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Lewes conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

What makes a Lewes lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Lewes is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Coventry Building Society, and Britannia all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Lewes Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments? If a Lewes lease has no more than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Leweslease extensions you would need to own the residence for 24 months before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension.