Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Penzance. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Penzance.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Penzance both have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Penzance. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Penzance where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Penzance conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Penzance conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Penzance conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Penzance conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Penzance who can give a testimonial?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 500000 garden flat in Penzance in nine days. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Penzance?

Penzance conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not requires the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be willing to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I own a 1 bedroom flat in Penzance, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Penzance with over 90 years remaining are worth £169,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2098

You have 72 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £12,400 and £14,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns 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 placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.