There are only 72 years left on my lease in Pevensey. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 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 magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Pevensey.

Planning to exchange soon on a garden flat in Pevensey. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Pevensey from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Pevensey can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Pevensey leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you dont have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Pevensey home move. If a new share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 450000 flat in Pevensey on Wednesday in a week. The freeholder 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 leasehold conveyance in Pevensey?

Pevensey conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries 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 paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

What are the frequently found problems that you see in leases for Pevensey properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Pevensey. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Chelsea Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express requirements 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, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I own a leasehold flat in Pevensey, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2003. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Pevensey with an extended lease are worth £210,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2083

You have 57 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £28,500 and £33,000 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.