I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in St Johns. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in St Johns - 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 Fifty years remaining on my lease in St Johns. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering St Johns.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in St Johns.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

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 management companies 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in St Johns with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Johns can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in St Johns charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Johns.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a St Johns conveyancing firm to help?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a St Johns conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a St Johns flat is 73 Walerand Road in August 2012. the result of the findings of the Tribunal led to a premium to be paid for the extended lease in respect of Flat 73 in the sum of £10,040. The premium applicable in respect of Flat 85 was £5,710. This case related to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72 years.

What are the frequently found defects that you see in leases for St Johns properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in St Johns is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.