Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years remaining on my flat in Mousehole. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. 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 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Mousehole.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Mousehole. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Mousehole ?

The majority of houses in Mousehole are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Mousehole so you should seriously consider looking for a Mousehole conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Mousehole conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Mousehole conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Mousehole conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Mousehole who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Mousehole with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Mousehole can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Mousehole leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.
• A minority of Mousehole leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Mousehole conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 275000 garden flat in Mousehole in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Mousehole?

For most leasehold sales in Mousehole conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Mousehole
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Mousehole leasehold premises is £350. For Mousehole conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Mousehole, conveyancing was carried out 1996. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Mousehole with over 90 years remaining are worth £205,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2103

With only 77 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.