I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in St Margarets. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

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

I want to rent out my leasehold apartment in St Margarets. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your previous St Margarets conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I only have 62 years left on my lease in St Margarets. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If 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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering St Margarets.

I am attracted to a couple of flats in St Margarets both have approximately 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in St Margarets. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in St Margarets where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local St Margarets conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 need not have 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 at the same time as 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 purchaser.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a St Margarets conveyancing firm to represent me?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to judgment on the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a St Margarets property is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 60.45 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in St Margarets - A selection of Queries before buying

Where a St Margarets lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the property. Check with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the property for a couple of years before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension. It would be wise to find out as much as you can regarding the managing agents as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues like the tidiness of the common parts. Enquire of other people whether they are happy with their service. On a final note, be sure you understand the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and specifically what you get for your money.