I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Sea Mills. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Sea Mills - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

There are only 68 years remaining on my lease in Sea Mills. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Sea Mills.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Sea Mills conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (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 work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Sea Mills conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Sea Mills with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sea Mills can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Sea Mills state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Sea Mills conveyancing transaction. If a new share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £ 225000 apartment in Sea Mills in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Sea Mills?

Sea Mills conveyancing on leasehold flats usually results in fees being invoiced by management companies :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Sea Mills
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Sea Mills leasehold property is £350. For Sea Mills conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide answers.

I bought a 2 bed flat in Sea Mills, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Sea Mills with an extended lease are worth £244,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2081

With 55 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £29,500 and £34,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns 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 based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.