Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Lewes. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Lewes - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Lewes. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. 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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Lewes.

I’m about to sell my basement flat in Lewes.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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 managing agents 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 am looking at a couple of apartments in Lewes which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Lewes is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. 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 premises 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 premises 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. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Lewes from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Lewes can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Lewes leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you dont have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.

Lewes Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments? The answer will be useful as a) areas may cause problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will want to know about it Make sure you find out if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For instance some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Lewes. If you like the apartmentin Lewes but your cat is not allowed to live with you then you will be presented with a difficult decision.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Lewes