There are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Stony Stratford. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Stony Stratford.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Stony Stratford which have about forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Stony Stratford is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 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 Stony Stratford 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 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 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Stony Stratford with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stony Stratford can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Stony Stratford charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stony Stratford.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Stony Stratford leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
• A minority of Stony Stratford leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 325000 maisonette in Stony Stratford in 10 days. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Stony Stratford?

Stony Stratford conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates administration charges levied by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Stony Stratford
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Stony Stratford leasehold premises is £350. For Stony Stratford 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 answers.

What are the frequently found defects that you see in leases for Stony Stratford properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Stony Stratford is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Leeds Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I inherited a garden flat in Stony Stratford, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Stony Stratford with an extended lease are worth £219,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2101

With only 75 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.