I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Sully. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Sully - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years remaining on my lease in Sully. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Sully.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Sully which have about forty five years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Sully. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Sully where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Sully conveyancing solicitors. Please 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 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Sully conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Sully conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Sully conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Sully - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

How much is the ground rent and service charge? Are there any major works anticipated that will increase the service costs? On the whole the cost for major works tend not to be wrapped into the service charges, although some managing agents in Sully ask tenants to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for larger repairs or maintenance.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Sully