I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in St Ives. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in St Ives - 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 Seventy years remaining on my flat in St Ives. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering St Ives.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in St Ives. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Defining your rights in respect of common areas in the block.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in St Ives where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local St Ives conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as 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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in St Ives with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in St Ives can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in St Ives state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. If you dont have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a St Ives home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary 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 you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

I purchased a 1 bedroom flat in St Ives, conveyancing formalities finalised 10 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in St Ives with an extended lease are worth £259,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2078

With just 52 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £39,000 and £45,000 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.