I only have 62 years unexpired on my flat in Sandringham. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Sandringham.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Sandringham. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Sandringham who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Sandringham conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Sandringham where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Sandringham conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Sandringham from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Sandringham can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• A minority of Sandringham leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £175000 garden flat in Sandringham next Monday . The managing agents has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Sandringham?

Sandringham conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled charge 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 £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Sandringham, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Sandringham with a long lease are worth £182,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2093

With only 68 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Sandringham