I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Neston. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Neston - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 only have Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Neston. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Neston.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Neston where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Neston conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having 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.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Neston with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Neston can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Neston levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Neston.
• A minority of Neston leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 buyers or their solicitors.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Neston home move. If a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 250000 flat in Neston next week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Neston?

Neston conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

I inherited a basement flat in Neston, conveyancing having been completed 5 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Neston with over 90 years remaining are worth £219,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2083

With 57 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £27,600 and £31,800 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.