I have recently realised that I have Seventy years left on my lease in Woodborough. I now wish 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful 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 wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Woodborough.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Woodborough. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Woodborough with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Woodborough can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Woodborough state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £175000 apartment in Woodborough next week. The managing agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Woodborough?

Woodborough conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not involves the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be willing to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

Are there frequently found problems that you see in leases for Woodborough properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Woodborough. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions 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.

I acquired a garden flat in Woodborough, conveyancing was carried out 2012. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Woodborough with an extended lease are worth £229,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2105

With only 80 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive 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 you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Woodborough