Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my flat in Bakewell. I need to get lease extension but my landlord 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 apply 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 locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Bakewell.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Bakewell both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Bakewell where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Bakewell conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £250000 maisonette in Bakewell on Monday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Bakewell?

Bakewell conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

What makes a Bakewell lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Bakewell is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses 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 building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I invested in buying a split level flat in Bakewell, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Bakewell with an extended lease are worth £173,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease terminates on 21st October 2095

With 70 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as legals.

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 in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Bakewell