Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years unexpired on my lease in Nelson. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Nelson.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Nelson. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

The total extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but might include a loft or basement if applicable.

Are pets allowed in the flat?

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

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

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Nelson please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Nelson

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Nelson.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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 managing agents 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.

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

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Nelson conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Nelson 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 they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

How many lease extensions has the firm completed in Nelson in the last 12 months?

Completion in due on our sale of a £425000 maisonette in Nelson next week. The managing agents has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Nelson?

Nelson conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves administration charges levied by freeholders :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Nelson
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Nelson leasehold premises is £350. For Nelson 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 supply answers.

I own a 1 bedroom flat in Nelson, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Nelson with a long lease are worth £237,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2079

With 54 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £30,400 and £35,200 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Nelson