Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Swadlincote. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Swadlincote.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Swadlincote. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Swadlincote where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Swadlincote conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Swadlincote conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

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

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What are the costs for lease extension work?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 300000 maisonette in Swadlincote on Tuesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Swadlincote?

Swadlincote conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times involves fees being invoiced by managing agents :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Swadlincote
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Swadlincote leasehold property is £350. For Swadlincote 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 supply the information.

I purchased a 1st floor flat in Swadlincote, conveyancing was carried out 2008. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable properties in Swadlincote with an extended lease are worth £168,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2078

With 52 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £30,400 and £35,200 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.