I only have Seventy years remaining on my lease in Westbury On Trym. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Westbury On Trym.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Westbury On Trym where we see a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Westbury On Trym conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Westbury On Trym conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Westbury On Trym conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Westbury On Trym conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Westbury On Trym who can give a testimonial?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Westbury On Trym from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Westbury On Trym can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Westbury On Trym levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Westbury On Trym.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Westbury On Trym leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
• A minority of Westbury On Trym leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (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 solicitors.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 375000 apartment in Westbury On Trym next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Westbury On Trym?

Westbury On Trym conveyancing on leasehold flats usually requires the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Westbury On Trym - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Please note if it is fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the property. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Westbury On Trymlease extensions you will be required to have owned the property for 24 months before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension.