I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Shirley. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Shirley - 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.

I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Shirley. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. 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 apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Shirley.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Shirley. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a reputable estate agency in Shirley where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Shirley conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Shirley with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shirley can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Shirley charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shirley.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Shirley home move. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Shirley. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount due for a lease extension?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Shirley property is 29 Woodstock Road in April 2014. the Tribunal determined that the premiums to be paid into court in respect of the purchase of the freehold registered at HMLR under Title N0.SY3997 should be £7,217. This case affected 4 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 98 years.

I inherited a 2 bed flat in Shirley, conveyancing was carried out 2005. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Shirley with a long lease are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2102

With just 76 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.