I have recently realised that I have 68 years left on my flat in Plymstock. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

If 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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Plymstock.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Plymstock.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge 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 management companies 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Plymstock. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 150000 flat in Plymstock on Wednesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Plymstock?

Plymstock conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically results in administration charges levied by management companies :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Plymstock
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

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

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Plymstock what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Plymstock. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts 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 difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Skipton Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I inherited a garden flat in Plymstock, conveyancing was carried out 2007. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Plymstock with a long lease are worth £177,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2106

With only 80 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.