There are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Reading. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If 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 or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Reading.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Reading. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Reading 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
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• 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 sinking fund?
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Reading both have about forty five years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Reading from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Reading can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Reading levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Reading.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Reading leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
• Some Reading leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Reading conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

What makes a Reading lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Reading is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and TSB all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Reading, conveyancing having been completed in 2006. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Reading with over 90 years remaining are worth £236,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2099

You have 73 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.