Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years remaining on my lease in Porth. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. 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 for permission 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 demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Porth.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Porth both have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Porth is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Porth conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Porth where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Porth conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Porth from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Porth can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Porth levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Porth.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £500000 maisonette in Porth next week. The landlords agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Porth?

Porth conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves the buyer’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge 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 cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Porth, conveyancing having been completed in 2005. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Porth with over 90 years remaining are worth £255,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2077

With only 52 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £37,100 and £42,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Porth