I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Stow on the Wold. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Stow on the Wold - 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 62 years left on my lease in Stow on the Wold. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Stow on the Wold.

Due to complete next month on a garden flat in Stow on the Wold. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Stow on the Wold should include some of the following:

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Stow on the Wold where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Stow on the Wold conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having 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 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.

What are the frequently found defects that you encounter in leases for Stow on the Wold properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Stow on the Wold. All 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.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed 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 provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I acquired a garden flat in Stow on the Wold, conveyancing was carried out in 2008. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Stow on the Wold with over 90 years remaining are worth £266,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2079

With only 54 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £35,200 and £40,600 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Stow on the Wold