Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Seaham. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Seaham - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

I only have 62 years remaining on my flat in Seaham. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

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 extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Seaham.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Seaham where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Seaham conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Seaham conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Seaham conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Seaham conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Seaham who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Seaham with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Seaham can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Seaham leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Seaham home move. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Seaham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Are there any major works in the planning that will increase the service charges? Be sure to discover if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For instance some leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Seaham. If you like the propertyin Seaham however your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be presented with a difficult decision.