Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in St Brides Major. 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 almost all are in St Brides Major - 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.

There are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in St Brides Major. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If 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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering St Brides Major.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in St Brides Major. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in St Brides Major should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

I am looking at a couple of flats in St Brides Major both have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in St Brides Major is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with St Brides Major conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in St Brides Major. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I invested in buying a studio flat in St Brides Major, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in St Brides Major with a long lease are worth £245,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2087

With just 62 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £19,000 and £22,000 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 a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in St Brides Major