I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Sands End. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Sands End - 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.

There are only Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Sands End. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. 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 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Sands End.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Sands End which have approximately forty five years left on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Sands End is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Sands End conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Sands End conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Sands End conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Sands End conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• How many lease extensions has the firm conducted in Sands End in the last 12 months?

Following months of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Sands End. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Sands End conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Sands End premises is 29 Sisters Avenue in April 2013. The Tribunal camme to the conclusion that the entire freehold should be transferred by the landlord to the nominee purchaser. The price to be paid was the sum of £53,527. This had been arrived at by applying a deferment rate of 5.25% to the freehold reversion and relativity of 95.4% to the leasehold values. This case related to 4 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 85.78 years.

Are there common deficiencies that you witness in leases for Sands End properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Sands End. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations 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.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Chelsea Building Society, and Clydesdale 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Sands End - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

For most Sands End leaseholds the cost for major works tend not to be incorporated into the service charges, although a few managing agents in Sands End obliged leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major works.