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

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Little Burstead - 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 62 years unexpired on my lease in Little Burstead. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Little Burstead.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Little Burstead conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Little Burstead conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Little Burstead conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Little Burstead in the last twenty four months?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Little Burstead who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Little Burstead from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Little Burstead can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Little Burstead state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Little Burstead conveyancing transaction. If a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage 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.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £ 275000 maisonette in Little Burstead next Friday . The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Little Burstead?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Little Burstead conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Little Burstead
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Little Burstead leasehold premises is £350. For Little Burstead 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 answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Little Burstead - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the leaseholders enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently retained if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. Are there any major works on the horizon that could increase the service fees?