I have recently realised that I have Seventy years remaining on my lease in Tarporley. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Tarporley.

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Tarporley.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 management companies 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Tarporley conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Tarporley conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Tarporley conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

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

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Tarporley with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tarporley can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• Some Tarporley leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Tarporley home move. Where a duplicate share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Tarporley what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Tarporley. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Leeds Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I invested in buying a leasehold flat in Tarporley, conveyancing having been completed 10 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Tarporley with an extended lease are worth £191,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2086

With 60 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £20,000 and £23,000 plus costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.