Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in St Leonards On Sea. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in St Leonards On Sea - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 have recently realised that I have Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in St Leonards On Sea. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. 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 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 lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. In some cases a specialist should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing St Leonards On Sea.

I own a leasehold flat in St Leonards On Sea. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in St Leonards On Sea who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a St Leonards On Sea conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in St Leonards On Sea from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Leonards On Sea can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many landlords or managing agents in St Leonards On Sea levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Leonards On Sea.
• 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 Leonards On Sea state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a St Leonards On Sea conveyancing transaction. Where a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £ 325000 flat in St Leonards On Sea next Wednesday . The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in St Leonards On Sea?

St Leonards On Sea conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily results in administration charges raised by management companies :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in St Leonards On Sea
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for St Leonards On Sea leasehold property is £350. For St Leonards On Sea 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 obliged to supply the information.

St Leonards On Sea Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?