I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Tetbury. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Tetbury - 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 62 years remaining on my lease in Tetbury. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Tetbury.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Tetbury which have about fifty years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Tetbury where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Tetbury conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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.

What makes a Tetbury lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Tetbury. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Clydesdale all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I own a 1 bedroom flat in Tetbury, conveyancing having been completed 4 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding flats in Tetbury with over 90 years remaining are worth £203,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2100

You have 74 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.