I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years left on my lease in Lydney. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Lydney.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Lydney.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you pay the invoice 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 unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I own a leasehold flat in Lydney. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Lydney who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Lydney conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Lydney both have about 50 years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Lydney. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 200000 flat in Lydney next Thursday . The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Lydney?

Lydney conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often involves the purchaser’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be willing to assist. They may levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

I acquired a split level flat in Lydney, conveyancing formalities finalised 2007. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Lydney with an extended lease are worth £206,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease expires on 21st October 2101

With only 75 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.