I have recently realised that I have Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Thornhill. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application 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 Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Thornhill.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Thornhill. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Thornhill should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Thornhill.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the service charge 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 unless 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.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Thornhill where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Thornhill conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to 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 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 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 buyer.

What makes a Thornhill lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Thornhill. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 , Virgin Money, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Thornhill, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Thornhill with a long lease are worth £182,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2101

You have 75 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you 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.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Thornhill