I have recently realised that I have 72 years unexpired on my lease in Ramsey. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Ramsey.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Ramsey both have about forty five years remaining on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Ramsey is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. 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 premises 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 Ramsey conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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 any new 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 employed by a long established estate agent office in Ramsey where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Ramsey conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Ramsey conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Ramsey conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Ramsey conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• How many lease extensions have they completed in Ramsey in the last twenty four months?

What makes a Ramsey lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Ramsey. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• 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 will have 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. Lloyds TSB Bank, Virgin Money, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Ramsey, conveyancing formalities finalised 2000. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable properties in Ramsey with an extended lease are worth £224,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2088

With 62 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.