Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my lease in Theale. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Theale.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Theale which have approximately 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Theale. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Theale conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Theale conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Theale 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 useful:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm completed in Theale in the last year?

What are the costs for lease extension work?

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

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Theale can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Theale leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.

Some Theale leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Theale conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

We expect to complete our sale of a £300000 apartment in Theale in nine days. The management company has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Theale?

Theale conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times involves administration charges raised by managing agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Theale
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Theale leasehold property is £350. For Theale 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 answers.

Theale Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the block? In the main the outlay for major works tend not to be wrapped into the maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Theale ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. Most Theale leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the landlord. Should you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this liability, usually quarterly throughout the year. This can differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a large amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check it because sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Theale