I only have 68 years left on my lease in Verwood. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord 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 submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Verwood.

Expecting to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Verwood. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Verwood.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

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 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.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Verwood. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Verwood ?

Most houses in Verwood are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Verwood so you should seriously consider looking for a Verwood conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Verwood where we see a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Verwood conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 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 buyer.

I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Verwood, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2006. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Verwood with an extended lease are worth £235,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2084

With just 61 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £24,700 and £28,600 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Verwood