I only have 68 years remaining on my flat in Nantwich. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Nantwich.

Planning to complete next month on a leasehold property in Nantwich. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Nantwich should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Nantwich both have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Nantwich from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Nantwich can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Nantwich levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack 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 reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Nantwich.
• A minority of Nantwich leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Nantwich home move. Where a reissued share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 300000 flat in Nantwich on Friday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Nantwich?

Nantwich conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not necessitates the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

I acquired a basement flat in Nantwich, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Nantwich with over 90 years remaining are worth £262,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2081

With just 55 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £34,200 and £39,600 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.