Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Winchcombe. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. 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 extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Winchcombe.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Winchcombe. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Winchcombe who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Winchcombe conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a two flats in Winchcombe which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Winchcombe. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Winchcombe conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Winchcombe conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Winchcombe conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Winchcombe what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Winchcombe. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I am the registered owner of a leasehold flat in Winchcombe, conveyancing was carried out 2000. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Winchcombe with an extended lease are worth £178,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2097

With just 71 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 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 cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.