Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years left on my flat in Swanland. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Swanland.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement flat in Swanland.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Swanland. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Swanland ?

Most houses in Swanland are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Swanland so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Swanland conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Swanland which have about 50 years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Swanland. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Swanland with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Swanland can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Swanland levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Swanland.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Swanland conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I inherited a ground floor flat in Swanland, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Swanland with an extended lease are worth £245,000. The ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease expires on 21st October 2106

With only 80 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.