There are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Whiston. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Whiston.

Due to complete next month on a basement flat in Whiston. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Whiston where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Whiston conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser 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 needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Whiston conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Whiston conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Whiston conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Whiston who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Whiston from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Whiston can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Whiston charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Whiston.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Whiston leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
• Some Whiston leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Whiston Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

It would be wise to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance it is reasonably common in Whiston leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Whiston. If you love the apartmentin Whiston but your dog is not allowed to live with you then you will be faced hard compromise.