There are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Sea Mills. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. 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 extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Sea Mills.

Expecting to complete next month on a studio apartment in Sea Mills. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Sea Mills should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Setting out your rights in respect of the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease grant a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I work for a busy estate agency in Sea Mills where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Sea Mills conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 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 agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 Sea Mills conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Sea Mills conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Sea Mills conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• How many lease extensions has the firm completed in Sea Mills in the last 12 months?

What makes a Sea Mills lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Sea Mills. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have 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. Birmingham Midshires, Virgin Money, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I invested in buying a basement flat in Sea Mills, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Sea Mills with over 90 years remaining are worth £210,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2095

You have 69 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £14,300 and £16,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.