There are only 62 years unexpired on my flat in Newhaven. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If 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 extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Newhaven.

I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Newhaven. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Newhaven ?

Most houses in Newhaven are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Newhaven so you should seriously consider looking for a Newhaven conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Newhaven from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Newhaven can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Newhaven charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Newhaven.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Newhaven home move. If a duplicate share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 150000 garden flat in Newhaven in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Newhaven?

Newhaven conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes ordinarily involves administration charges levied by management companies :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Newhaven
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Newhaven leasehold premises is £350. For Newhaven 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 required to provide the information.

What makes a Newhaven lease problematic?

Leasehold conveyancing in Newhaven is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Newhaven, conveyancing having been completed in 2012. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Newhaven with an extended lease are worth £222,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2105

With just 79 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs 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 issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously 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.