Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Winchcombe. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Winchcombe - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Winchcombe. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Winchcombe.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Winchcombe both have about fifty years remaining on the lease term. 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 the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Winchcombe where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Winchcombe conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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 sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

What are the frequently found problems that you encounter in leases for Winchcombe properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Winchcombe is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Bank of Scotland, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Winchcombe - A selection of Queries before buying

What restrictions are there in the Winchcombe Lease? How long is the Lease?