I only have 62 years unexpired on my flat in Stanley. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Stanley.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Stanley which have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Stanley is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat 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 Stanley conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new 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 am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Stanley where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Stanley conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

Completion in due on our sale of a £450000 flat in Stanley in 8 days. The freeholder has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Stanley?

Stanley conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

What are the frequently found problems that you encounter in leases for Stanley properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Stanley is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, The Mortgage Works, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I inherited a studio flat in Stanley, conveyancing having been completed in 2006. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Stanley with a long lease are worth £265,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2094

With only 73 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Stanley