Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Winchcombe. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and prepare 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 solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Winchcombe.

Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Winchcombe. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

I own a leasehold flat in Winchcombe. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Winchcombe who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Winchcombe conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Winchcombe both have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £475000 garden flat in Winchcombe in just under a week. The management company has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Winchcombe?

Winchcombe conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the buyer’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I invested in buying a split level flat in Winchcombe, conveyancing having been completed in 2007. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Winchcombe with over 90 years remaining are worth £175,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2097

With only 72 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as costs.

The figure 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. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Winchcombe