There are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in St Ives. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. In some cases a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering St Ives.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in St Ives. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The physical extent of the premises. This will be the property itself but could also incorporate a loft or basement if applicable.

Does the lease prevent you from renting out the property, or working from home

You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in St Ives please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in St Ives

I am attracted to a two apartments in St Ives which have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a St Ives conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a St Ives conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non St Ives conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm 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?

What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £200000 apartment in St Ives next Wednesday . The landlords agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in St Ives?

For the majority of leasehold sales in St Ives conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in St Ives
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for St Ives leasehold premises is £350. For St Ives 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 required to provide the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in St Ives - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

The majority of St Ives leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the building set on behalf of the freeholder. Where you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this liability, usually quarterly throughout the year. This can be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a large figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to check as sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. The answer will be important as a) areas can cause problems for the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will need to know about it The best form of lease structure is where the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees enjoy control and even though a managing agent is often employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in St Ives