Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Arkley. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Arkley - 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 Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Arkley. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Arkley.

Expecting to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Arkley. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Setting out your rights in respect of common areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or staircase?
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or working from home
• You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• 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
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Arkley where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Arkley conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Arkley conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Arkley conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Arkley conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Arkley who can give a testimonial?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

I own a a ground floor purpose built flat in Arkley. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for a lease extension?

if there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to calculate the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Arkley flat is Ground Floor Maisonette 17 Milton Road in January 2014. The Tribunal determined the premium payable by the Applicant to the should be £13,299 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 71.73 years.

I inherited a basement flat in Arkley, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Arkley with a long lease are worth £205,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2099

With just 73 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £11,400 and £13,200 plus costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.