There are only 68 years left on my lease in South Brent. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing South Brent.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in South Brent.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in South Brent. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in South Brent are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in South Brent in which case you should be shopping around for a South Brent conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in South Brent where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local South Brent conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the buyer 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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in South Brent from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in South Brent can be reduced if 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’ solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in South Brent state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. If you fail to have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a South Brent conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Leasehold Conveyancing in South Brent - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the flat? Be sure to investigate if the the lease includes any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For instance some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in South Brent. If you love the propertyin South Brent yet your cat can’t live with you then you will be presented with a difficult compromise.